Could It Be All A Dream?
by FireWaterLightDark7890
Summary: When 16 year old orphan Rina survives a deadly car accident, will a romance with newly found soulmate Axel put her life back in balance? Rina's POV. Axel X OC. Demyx X OC. Roxas X OC. Zexion X OC. Rated T for blood and PDA.
1. The Accident at Midnight

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Kingdom Hearts II, even though one is only just introduced in this chapter. Rina is my character, though. She comes from my own mind, and has characteristics of myself. I also don't own the lyrics to "In Regards To Myself". Those belong to UnderOath.

So, without further ado, here's my first actual fanfic! The poems really don't count for me; I only did that because I was bored…oh, please don't hurt me, either.

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Let's face it, I hate driving at night. Especially when you're not the one driving, but your reckless twenty-year-old look-how-fast-I-can-drive-in-my-sweet-car-and-see-how-manly-I-look-driving-it cousin is. It can keep you on the edge of your seat. I knew something bad was going to happen that night, but I didn't know what.

I'm Katrina, Rina for short. I'm sixteen years old and an orphan since I was ten. I should have my permit by now, I know, but after a little incident concerning the car in Drivers' Education, say, crashing it into the wall every time I took the test, made me suspended on getting my license until I was eighteen. Woop-dee-doo. I felt like a delinquent or something of that unsavory nature. I wasn't selling or doing drugs or crap like that, so why the heck suspend me?! I would be more patient the next time I had a chance to take the test, and I would be ready.

So that's how I got to sulking in my cousin's front passenger seat. He was taking me back to my house from a week-long camp up in San Francisco. Even though he asked me questions about it, I still sulked. I got bored after a while with that, so I decided to crank up some UnderOath in my portable CD player to soothe my simmering, jealous mind with screaming voices, bass, and guitars, along with wicked drum solos and awesome lyrics. I turned the volume up as high as my eardrums could muster.

_Wake up! Wake up, my God,  
This is not a test and it's not too late to come clean  
Get it off your chest  
So steady for hand before your face and concentrate  
There's got to be some stable ground left to walk on_

So tear another page from the book  
Are you asleep or just alone  
Clear this room from your lungs  
And pull yourself together man

Pull yourself together, pull yourself together, man  
Pull yourself together, pull yourself together.

On your back, you're sleeping in a bed of shame  
Let the light breathe some new life into this room  
It's what keeps you coming back  
Made up of insatiable taste  
Bury your head into your hands and sink into yourself

Just what are you so afraid of  
What are you so afraid of  
You're staring truth in the face so come on down  
What are you so afraid of

You're busy living now, aren't you  
You're busy making vows  
You're coming unglued  
Time is shorter than you know  
The light is blinding to the naked eye, so why don't you take  
Steps away from being alone, I swear, it's not to late for you

It's all worth reaching for,  
It's all worth reaching for the hand to pull you out  
It's all worth reaching for the hand to pull you out.

Wake up, wake up, wake up  
And step outside your box  
Wake up!

My mind was finally starting to cool down when I changed my position from looking out the passenger window to the front windshield. I took the earphones out of my ears, leaving me deaf momentarily, and put my CD player and CD's back in their case, only to look up and see a car coming right toward my cousin and me. My cousin tried to swerve out of the way, swearing under his breath as he did so; having just woken up from falling asleep momentarily at the wheel, but there was nothing he could do. I braced myself for the impact, and it came with a roar.

Both cars hit each other head on with an explosion of glass, metal, and other unidentifiable shrapnel, and at the same time burst into flames rising twenty feet into the blue-black sky above. I prayed a fervent, silent prayer as I heard both cars crunch together with a G-force of probably three or four.

As the airbags deflated, I felt bits and pieces of discarded windshield embedded in my arms, neck, and face, and I could feel the warm trickles of blood streaming down my cheeks. I turned to look at my cousin, and then turned away quickly, accidentally getting spatters of blood on the leather interior. He was dead. My idiot cousin who I didn't even care for was dead right next to me. I dared another peek.

My cousin was indeed dead, the flickering of the fire reflecting in his cold, lifeless brown eyes. His neck was twisted in a grotesque position; it had broken from the airbag hitting it. Blood gushed from the jugular, the vocal cords exposed, throat torn open. And what's more, he wasn't wearing his seatbelt, either. I looked away again, heartbroken.

The heat from the flames finally came to my frozen senses and felt hotter and hotter by the second. I ripped my seatbelt off, and kicked open the caved-in passenger door with a violent scream, the metal slicing deep into my leg as I did so and staying in there, but still exposing the bone. My belongings I left behind had no real use to me, and as I jumped from the car, I turned to see my cousin engulfed in flames. I started to run from the wreckage, the adrenaline from kicking the door open still pulsing through my veins. I then felt a painful numbness in my right leg where the metal had cut it, then felt the other aches and pains in my body and fell to the ground flat on my back, my injured leg twisting beneath me, going even more number.

Overwhelmed with pain, a slight sigh of relief escaped my dry, cracked lips as I heard the sirens of an ambulance coming nearer. My vision blurred slowly, and I passed out looking up at a tall, dark, slim figure of a man with beautiful, glowing aqua-green eyes looking down at me, silhouetted by the growing flames rising into the night sky.

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Ok, so how do you like it so far? I love stuff like this! Well, that's why I wrote it...but anyway. This story is a pretty good start for me, so I'm happy. Please review, but no really bad flames…they scare me…gah!!!! I do like fire, but no flames!


	2. Aftermath

Second chappie-yay! This one's a little less action-packed…but more mysterious…and a tiny bit more into the romance…ooooh! But only just a little…sorry! Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Kudos to James Axel Darkness for the awesome review! Thank you!

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"Rina…" A voice was calling my name.

"Wha?" I moaned, opening my bloodshot eyes. I nearly flipped when I saw I was floating upright in pitch-black nothingness.

"Rina," the voice called again gently. "It is not your time to leave this world yet. It is not time for your death."

I sighed, aches and pains hitting my body like a Mack truck. "Oh, but death would be so…nice…" I muttered, giving a small smile. "There would be no pain, no suffering, and I'll be with Mom and Dad again."

The voice chuckled softly and came close to me. "If only you knew," it said sadly, and then I saw whose voice it was.

It was the voice of a dark angel. He was extremely lean but muscular and bare-chested, wearing tight black pants, no shoes, and had wings made out of a huge burning flame. His hair was a red flame itself, slicked down with spikes and his eyes that glowed behind his short bangs were the eyes I had seen before I passed out: a glowing aqua-green. His face was still hidden from being silhouetted by his wings now, save for his small friendly smirk, but I secretly felt relieved. An angel-wow! Was he…my guardian angel?

"W-who are you?" I asked.

The angel smiled, revealing dazzling white teeth. "That's not important right now. I have to get you to the light." He pointed to a pinprick of white light far above my head. It looked like a bright star.

"But I…can't move," I complained quietly. "I hurt…so much…it hurts to even breathe!"

"Try to take my hand," the angel commanded peacefully, yet powerfully. He extended his slender, long-fingered hand for me.

I tried with all my might to grab the angel's hand, but the pain was too much. I gasped and began to fall more into the darkness and away from the light faster and faster. "I'm sorry," I apologized softly to him before I fell farther. My eyes were growing heavy, and I was going to sink into unconsciousness once more, I knew.

"No!" The perfect dark angel cried out, swooping down like a hawk in flight with his wings and catching me in his strong arms. "Rina, you have to wake up!" He began to soar towards the light, which I now knew was life for me. "You have to wake up!" His desperate voice was now becoming an echo. He hugged me to his chest, and I felt his heartbroken tears drip into my hair and stream down my stinging cheeks. "You have to wake…"

I shot up in the bed I was in, gasping from the pain of my injuries and the shock from the dream I had just experienced. Or was it a dream? I didn't know. The pain meds were keeping me stupid and delirious.

All I knew was that I had been out since the accident and was now wide awake in the ICU with the works on and in my body: An oxygen tube in my nose, three IVs in my left arm, doing their job by pumping blood transfusions, fluids, and pain medication into my bloodstream, a heart monitor bleeping close to my ear, little butterfly bandages on my face (from the glass), and a strange sort of IV in my right injured leg as well. I sat up, blinked slowly, clearing my vision, and thought, _Man, that must've been a right wicked car accident if I'm in this very, very, VERY horrid state. _

_And what the heck did that dream mean? Did I almost freakin' die?! _I sighed in exasperation from a thought headache when a young brunette nurse not that much older than me walked in.

"Oh, Rina, you're finally awake!" She smiled happily. "We weren't sure you were gonna wake up soon. You've been in a coma for ten days!"

"TEN DAYS?!?!?!" I shrieked, the pain meds wearing off, leaving me thinking more clearly. "TEN FREAKIN' DAYS?" I was going to blow my top when I saw past the cowering nurse and looked at the guest's table and chairs. Everything I had lost in the accident, books, CDs, clothes, it was all there.

My rampage subsided, much to the nurse's relief. "Who brought all this?" I demanded, pointing at the stuff with my non-needle filled hand.

"Oh, that stuff? Three days before you woke a good-lookin' kid dressed in all black with red hair brought it. You have any friends like that?"

My eyes lit up at the words 'red hair', but I shook my head. If I told the nurse about the angel in my dream, she would have thought I was crazy or drugged up or worse. "No, I don't know any redheads. I've seen and talked to a few before, but I don't know anyone personally."

"Oh, that's strange. He was really polite, and seemed to know you quite well. It was as if he had noticed what you had lost in the accident…it was as if he was there."

My head whirled from the comment, but I didn't show my confusion. "Really? But I don't know anyone like that…he was all dressed in black?"

"Yeah, a black coat, gloves, and boots. It looked like some sort of uniform."

I took the appearance in. "And he never said a name?"

The nurse shook her head. "No. All he did was asked me 'How is she?' After he dropped the stuff off, he looked at you for a while, then turned to me and asked, 'Well, could you tell her I stopped by?' He then smiled and walked out of the room. I tried to see where he was going, but when I looked, it was if he had vanished into thin air! It was so weird!"

I was disappointed. "Oh," I said. "If he had told you his name, I might have been able to find out who he was…there's a few redheads at school, but I've only heard their names. Maybe he doesn't go to my school."

"I doubt he does."

"Right. Anyway, what actually happened after I leapt from the wreck?"

The nurse became more serious. "Oh, of course. The ambulance came almost as soon as you dropped to the ground. For a few seconds, you were so still they thought you were dead. You almost DID die…your heart rate dropped for about fifteen seconds."

My face went white. "R-really?" I asked shakily.

"Yeah. The doctor saw that your right leg, as you can see, succumbed a great deal of damage; the muscles and ligaments were all torn up, and the nerve endings got cut as well. That's why you have that needle in your leg: to build up everything that had been broken so you can walk and run again. You lost a large amount of blood, so be thankful that someone gave you a transfusion, or else you would most definitely dead now."

"When will I get out?"

"Six more weeks, and you're moving into a normal room today." As she said this, a male nurse pushing a wheelchair came in, and I was grateful not having to walk to my normal recovery hospital room.

A few weeks passed after the conversation, and after watching reruns of Doctor Who and Disney movies, I decided to work out my leg, on the doctor's orders, of course.

I was out in the hall, stretching and putting my muscles to good use when I heard a short, clear clatter in my room. It took me a while to get to the doorway, having to push my IV stand around with me wherever I went. As I looked around the room, no one was there.

"Psst," A voice behind me whispered. "Behind you."

I slowly, cautiously, turned around, and found myself staring into the glowing aqua-green eyes of my savior guardian angel.

"Boo," He said smirking.

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Ooooh! A sorta cliffhanger! Hope you enjoyed this one! R&R, please! I will give you candy!


	3. Meeting Axel

Third chapter! I'm so happy I got this far! More into the plot…MUAHAHAHAHAAAA! Ok, maniacal laughter, over. Don't want to turn into Vexen here…anyway, hope you enjoy! This chapter has a tiny bit of randomness in it…that's what happens when you give Rina pain meds…uh-oh. Let's see what happens. Oh, and I have nothing against Rice Krispies. I just thought it would be a funny thing to be random on.

horsie890-for giving me a nice review you get the candy of your choice.

Toxique-for giving me a nice review you get the candy of your choice.

Arora Borialis-for giving me a nice review you get the candy of your choice.

**WEAPONS ARE COOL, BUT CANDY IS BETTER!!!!**

Anyway, I don't own anything except Rina. So, yeah. On with the chappie!

**Recap of Chapter Two**

"_Psst," a voice behind me whispered. "Behind you."_

_I slowly, cautiously, turned around, and found myself staring into the glowing aqua-green eyes of my savior guardian angel._

"_Boo," He said smirking._

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"You-you, umm…." I stammered, slowly taking my rescuer's surprisingly cool, calm, and collected demeanor in, seeing that he was leaning casually on the opposite wall of the hospital room window. "You're the one that _saved_ me from death or darkness or whatever." I squinted at him in an over-suspicious manner. "Aren't you?"

His appearance was almost like the first time I saw him, except this time I could see what he completely looked like. He was around 17 years old to my 16 and was 5'11 to my 5'6, dressed in a black leather ankle-length coat, gloves, and boots. He had an oval, light-tan face with the infamous glowing aqua-green eyes, which were now shining with newly-seen sarcasm and intelligence, and were lazily half-open, which I also noticed were lightly, but noticeably, outlined in jet-black liner, along with a pair of maroon upside-teardrop tattoo designs, one under each eye. His shoulder-length, flaming red hair was no longer neatly slicked down but was now neatly spiked dangerously and seemed to defy gravity they were so perfectly symmetrical and added several inches to his already tall, lean frame. His thin lips were formed into a small, friendly smirk, like the angel had in my…whatever it was. Long, thin arms were crossed comfortably against his lean chest, and one of his long, thin legs was propped up against the wall, the opposite leg supporting his balance.

After he heard my question, he looked up and gave a bigger smirk. "I'll leave it to you to decide," He said quietly, not even moving an inch from his post.

"Wha?" I asked, befuddled. I still had the pain medication pumping in my arm, leaving me a little slow-thinking.

He chuckled at my expression and walked towards me slowly, powerfully, full of confidence and pride. "You're smart-you just have to…" He tapped at his temple, staring at me. "…get the gears movin'. Got it memorized?"

"Um…I guess I do, yeah," I said, now looking at him straight in the eye. It was almost like looking into a dog's eyes: you didn't know if the animal was gonna attack you or not for staring them down like that. It was almost like accepting a hard challenge or task; you didn't know if you were going to come out dead or alive, if you get my definitions. In short, his eyes seemed dangerous. Happy? Thought so.

"You learn quick," He said snidely after a few moments of staredown. "Now, who am I? Think…for once." He smirked again.

I scowled at him, then closed my eyes, and let my mind go, the setting of the hospital room, the mysterious red-headed intruder, and reached into the deep forgotten crevices of my abused mind; past the car accident, past all the deaths I'd endured: the death of my parents, my best friend, and my cousin, I went all past that, and remembered the dark angel, and the figure of the figure peering at me before I passed out. _The eyes,_ I thought._ His eyes are the exact same as the ones I've seen before. The same as the angel…the same as the man at the wreck…the same as…_ "Alex?" I opened my eyes.

The boy shrugged. "Close enough. The name's _Axel._ Not Alex. Got it memorized? A-X-E-L."

"Yeah, but, you-he-you know Alex? He-he's-well…um…" I stammered.

Axel rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Spit it out!"

"Alex is dead!" The words came out of my mouth in an awestruck blur. "He died five years ago! HOW THE HECK COULD YOU KNOW HIM?!?!?!?!?"

"Who said I knew him?" His snide comments were beginning to degrade my composure. He leaned in a few inches from my face. "But I'm not telling! Commit it to memory." He scoffed with a half-smile.

The short space between us made my face burn with embarrassment, and I then felt a strange urge to do something I would never do under _normal_ circumstances. But when you're all drugged up, what can you do? I began circling Axel, examining him thoroughly.

"Wha-what are you doing?" He asked, a weirded-out look on his face, his head following my movements, his ears pricking up slightly every time the IV stand scraped against the floor.

"Well, I'm making sure you're not a hallucination, of course!" I began poking at his spine. "Where are your wings?"

Axel looked confused. "What? Wings?"

"If you're an angel, where are your wings?"

He snapped his fingers. "Oh, _those_ wings. Newsflash, Rina, I'm not an angel. And the wings were a one-time thing. Limited time only."

I crossed my arms. "Lucky," I muttered. "I can't even make a stupid lanyard…at that stupid camp…in stupid…wait a sec; I _like_ San Francisco." I began to ramble to myself stupidly, forgetting the fact that another being was in the room. "Yeah, there's Chinatown, the Golden Gate Bridge…"

"Uh, Rina?" Axel interrupted quietly. I didn't notice.

"…Alcatraz, the Mythbusters' studio, all the hills and earthquakes-wait, I don't like those…"

"Rina?"

"And um…" The pain meds were making me loopy. "…those Rice Krispies I had at camp…they didn't even flippin' go 'Snap, crackle, pop'! They went 'Pop, snap, crackle!' What a rip-off!"

"RINA!" Axel finally lost it, somehow appearing behind me and clapped a hand over my mouth, shoving my shaky body backwards against his chest. And let me tell you, _that_ was the best thing he could do to shut me up-I would have been going at it all day. As soon I was against his body, though, a heated blush began to surface. Like I said, that kept me silent…momentarily.

"Geroff!" I screamed under his glove after the shock wore off, jumping and pulling back from his grip, only to trip on my own IV stand like the clumsy idiot that I was. Like the car accident, I waited for impact, knowing it was too fast to stop, but only this time, it didn't happen.

Axel, with lightning fast speed, caught me by the waist with his right arm and caught the IV stand with his left, only inches from the hard tile floor. My mind, though now quickly becoming numb and worthless thanks to the cursed pain meds, was filled with grateful relief. Although a small voice in the back of my head told me not to trust Axel, I thought otherwise. There was no way that someone like this could be _too _bad.

The redhead propped me up on my feet. "You okay?" he asked, his eyes filled with a new sort of emotion: concern.

I shrugged dumbly and tried to straighten myself out, but my legs were slowly morphing into figurative Jell-o. My knees buckled, but he grabbed me by my upper arms just in time. "Whoa, easy," he said, this time his voice met his eyes. I tried to walk to my bed, but tripped again, this time over my own two feet. As suspected, he caught me , but by the waist again. "Well, aren't you the fighter. Alright," He said approvingly, his infamous smirk making itself known once more.

Then he did the unthinkable: He cupped my chin and brought it up so I was looking at him square in the eye. "But I like the lively Rina better," He mused softly, and then chuckled. "You have some fire in you. I like that about a person."

His eyes were making me feel more stupid then I felt before. "M-me, too," I muttered.

We just stood there staring at each other when Axel pulled back. "I gotta go," He said sadly. "I'll see ya around, ok? Don't trip anymore." He then turned to leave.

"Will I see you again?" I asked, heading back towards my hospital bed. I climbed in and pulled up the comforter.

Axel turned to smirk at me. "I think I can arrange that…"

"Tomorrow?"

"We'll see what happens. Got it memorized?"

I sighed. "Alright," I laid my head back into the pillows and settled in to sleep. "Axel?"

"Yeah?" His head peeked around the small corridor of my room.

"Shut me up more often."

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Yay! Third chapter finally done! Stupid writer's block…anyway, R&R, people! PLEASE???? I'd appreciate it!

Note: Alex is going to be mentioned a few chapters later, and you'll see who he is then. But for now, the mystery and the romance grows little by little….


	4. Memories You Have All Day To Explain

Finally! On the fourth chapter! Now things are getting somewhere. Oh, yes, they are. Rina has met Axel and now events are about to blossom…woo-hoo! I'm so happy I got this far. It makes me feel like a huge weight is off my shoulders. But now I have this chapter to think about. I already have ideas, so it shouldn't be too hard…

Thank you for the review, James Axel Darkness! My present to you is a weapon of your choice!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Rina. I wish I did, but I don't. So there!

I know, enough rambling! I'm starting the chapter now!

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"_Come on, Daddy!" I cried happily, ten years old again. "I can't wait to see Chinatown!"_

"_Be careful, Rina," My father warned. "These trolleys won't stop for anyone or anything."_

_I grinned at him. "Daddy, I'm not that stupid! It's not like I'm gonna just walk into the street like an idiot!"_

"_I know; I just want you to be careful." He smiled at me in a way a loving father would and began to walk the opposite direction. "Come on, if you're in such a hurry!" He turned his head to look at me, his deep sky blue eyes twinkling._

"_Coming!" I ran silently like a rabbit, then pounced on his shoulders and giggled. "Gotcha, Daddy! You cannot beat the Rinanator! Yus!" I pumped my right fist in the air and gently tugged at his red-gold hair with the other. I leaned down and gave him a kiss on the forehead._

"_Rina, you're such a goof," Dad said, laughing._

"_Yeah, but I'm YOUR goof!"_

"_Ok, twerp, get down. You're getting too big for this,"_

_I sighed. "Alright…"_

_Dad and I were alone in the world, after Mom had died of pneumonia when I was six. I still remember that she was so beautiful on the outside and the inside, just like my father was, so that's what drew them together to decide to have me, I guess._

_Daddy and I saw everything to see in Chinatown, from the paper dragons to all the different restaurants and fish, and we had a great time there. Except…_

"_Daddy!" I cried out, pointing at something. "You dropped your wallet!" I ran into the middle of the street and picked it up. "Don't worry, I got it!" I smiled and began to jump up and down, from simply being so happy for having such a wonderful father. I looked down. "Hey, there's a penny! 'See a penny…"_

"_Rina!"_

"…_pick it up…"_

"_RINA!" _

"…_all the day you'll have good luck!' "_

_I didn't see the trolley coming towards me…but my father did. He ran into the street…_

"_MOVE, RINA!!!"_

…_and pushed me out of the way of the dangerous moving vehicle…_

"_Daddy?" I ran towards him then screamed. _

_My 33-year-old father was dead. His beautiful deep sky blue eyes that I inherited from him were frozen half-open and his red-gold hair that I inherited from him was sticky and stained with blood. His entire body was broken from the wheels of the trolley, which had finally stopped to see what it had hit._

"_This-this cannot be happening…it just can't. IT CAN'T!!!" I gripped Dad's shoulders and began to shake him violently. "Dad! DAD! COME ON, DAD, WE GOTTA GO HOME!" Tears began to stream down my cheeks. "Please wake up..." I began to sob as I lay on his chest. "Please…I need you…I don't have anyone else…please WAKE UP!" I threw myself across his body, when I noticed something in his hand._

_It was his silver pewter Celtic Druid pendant on the leather strap which he wore all the time. My father was not a Druid, but he wore it to think of his family heritage, all the way in Ireland, where he promised to take me when I was eighteen. Now it would never happen._

_I then remembered the promise he made to me when I asked him about the pendant…_

"_Daddy," I as a seven-year-old began to ask. "Can I wear your pretty necklace?"_

_He held the Celtic knot up for me to see. "This?" I nodded, and he pulled it back."No way! It's my family heritage!"_

"_But why can't I wear it? Am I family, too?" I gave him my saddest face._

_He sighed, and then smiled. "I'll tell you what: If something bad ever happens to me, you can have this, alright? Does that seem fair?"_

"_I think so," I replied. "But nothing bad will ever happen to you…so I'll never get to wear it…"_

"_Aww, you never know…"_

"_But I don't want anything to happen to you, Daddy," I gave him a hug. "I love you too much…"_

_The memory on my heart, I plucked the pendent from his fingers and put it around my neck, a sinister reminder of not following orders._

_I hurried over to a payphone as the ambulance arrived to take my father away. I pulled a couple quarters out of my pocket and put them in the phone. There was only one person I could call, sixteen-year-old, best friend, big-brother figure Alex._

_As the phone rang, I pleaded, tears still streaming down my cheeks. "Pick up, pick up!"_

_On the third ring, I heard an exhausted voice say, "Hello?" Alex always slept a lot._

"_Alex, it's me."_

"_Oh, hey, Blue Eyes," he yawned. "What's up?"_

"_Um…well…"_

"_Come on, Rina, tell me!"_

"_Can you come pick me up?"_

_He yawned again. "Sure thing, kid, where are you? Aren't you supposed to be with your dad today?"_

"_Yeah, but some things have come up and…"_

"_Aww, I'm kiddin', but seriously, where are you?"_

"_Chinatown,"_

"_Rina, I'm in Sacramento right now…you expect me to come pick you up all the way in 'Frisco?"_

"_Please, Alex, I'm desperate here!"_

"_You don't sound so good. Are you ok?"_

"_I'll tell you later, just PLEASE hurry up! It'll be getting dark soon."_

"_Ok, ok, I'll come up to get out of your hair. Chill out and stay somewhere where I can see you, alright?"_

"_Um, ok…just hurry."_

"_Ok, see ya,"_

"'_Bye."_

_I sat on the bench by the payphone and waited numbly for two hours, tears flowing nonstop down my cheeks until I saw the beat-up red Toyota come driving towards me. It was Alex's car._

_He hopped out of the driver's side of the vehicle and jogged over to me. "Hey, kid, you ok?" I looked up._

_Alex was always easy on the eyes for me and every female around him. He was smart, funny, and very handsome, with shoulder-length jet black hair that he made sure was always spiked down in public, sparkling aqua-green eyes that were filled to the brim with life, a light tan all year round, and a lean, strong, 5'11 frame. He was my best friend and he would be until he died. We were inseparable._

"_Rina," he said with a concerned tone. "Hello!" He rapped my skullcap with his knuckles. "Earth to Rina! Earth to Rina!"_

"_Ok, ok! I'm sorry…a lot of things on my mind…"_

"_Yeah. The hospital called before I left to tell me what happened." He took me in his arms. "I'm so sorry, Rina. I really am."_

"_I-I know." Finally the sobs and screams that were being held back for over two hours burst out, and I threw myself at Alex, heartbroken. "I-I'm such an idiot!" I cried. "He told me to stay out of the street, but did I listen? No! I'm stupid!" I let go of the grip I had on Alex and began to hit my head on the brick wall of an office building. "Stupid, stupid, stupid! Daddy's dead because of me! He saved me! I never thanked him for this day or anything!" I was raging on, and still hitting my head on the wall. "I'm stupid, stupid, STUPID!" I screamed again, and then felt gentle arms pull me back._

"_That's enough, Blue Eyes," Alex said quietly, using my nickname. "Things like this happen every day. It's not your fault. It's alright."_

"_But YOUR father didn't die…"Alex put up a hand to tell me to stop._

"_Rina, come on. You can stay with my family for a while, ok? Just let everything go. You still have your dad. He's just not here anymore. He's watching over you now."_

_I sighed, and then gave a sad smile. "You know what? You're right."_

"_Now that's the Blue Eyes I know," Alex said, giving me a small grin. "Let's go home."_

_

* * *

_

_One year later, Alex died in a car accident on the way home from work…more like explosion, kinda like I almost did a few days ago. He was only seventeen...and my only true friend I ever had. It was my father's death all over again._

_I moved back into my old house my aunt and uncle rented out, just in case I ever came back there. And I still live there, at age 16, alone, with my memories. _

_I wear the necklace I salvaged from my father's hand all the time, and I never take it off, only when I take a shower._

_But Axel? Alex? Why do they seem the same to me? The same feeling I had around Alex I have now around Axel…but Axel isn't Alex…is he?_

_Those same eyes…_

_Glowing aqua-green…_

_Same height…_

_5'11..._

_Same body type..._

_Tall and very lean, but surprisingly strong..._

_Same expressions…_

"_What are you doing?" Alex had asked me when I began pulling on a pair of his pants._

"_Well, I'm seeing if they fit!"_

_Alex smirked at me after that._

"_What are you doing?" Axel asked me when I began to examine him._

"_Well, I'm making sure you're not a hallucination, of course!"_

_Axel gave me a smirk that completely matched Alex's._

_Same cool demeanor…_

"_Sure, kid, where are you?" Alex asked me when I needed him to come pick me up from Chinatown._

"_We'll see what happens," Axel told me when I asked him if he could see me again._

_The way they both said my name…_

"_Rina," Alex said, concerned._

"_RINA!" Axel said, annoyed._

_The fact that I had a little crush on Alex…_

"_You know I kinda like you, right, Alex?" I had muttered to myself, blushing._

…_and I felt the same way when I was up against Axel's body as he shut me up._

_I had blushed both times._

_And the way they both could sneak up on me…_

"_Yeah, it's too obvious, Blue Eyes," Alex had said right behind me as I told myself I liked him._

"_Boo," Axel had said behind me, totally making me off guard._

* * *

As my eyes opened from peaceful-if you could call it that-slumber, I found myself staring, once again, into a pair of glowing aqua-green eyes. 

"Hey," Axel said with a friendly smirk. "Good morning. You sleep like a log."

I sat up, yawned and rubbed my eyes. "Um…thank you?"

He gave a big, cheesy grin as I said that…it was kinda cute.

"So," I asked. "When'd you get here?"

"I'm not telling," Axel scoffed. "You have to guess, or no breakfast for you!"

"What? Come on!" I reached for the tray of hospital food, but he pulled it away.

"I don't think so. Guess."

"Ok, fine. An hour?"

"Nope. You want a hint?"

"Fine. Is it under an hour?"

"Nuh-uh. Don't think so."

"Alright, a bit creepy, but how 'bout, two hours?"

"Too close!"

"Two hours and fifteen minutes!" I guessed.

"Bingo!" Axel passed the tray over to me.

Before I began eating, I gave him a weirded-out look. "What, are you stalking me or something?" He laughed at my suspicion.

As I started eating my scrambled eggs, there was one thing I had to ask. I swallowed, took a swig of orange juice, and swallowed again. "Listen, Axel," I started.

"Yeah?"

"I know you know Alex from somewhere, and I need to know. Are you related to him or something? 'Cause I'm feeling the same way around you the way I felt around him."

"Like what way?"

"Safe, secure, loved, and other stuff like that. And don't deny anything, 'cause you'd be lying to me, and I hate liars!"

Axel saw the fierce look in my face and saw that I wasn't joking. He rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled nervously. "Looks like I have a lot of explaining to do."

I finished my eggs and orange juice and leaned in a few inches from his face like he did me the day before and looked him straight in the eye, but that didn't stop me from blushing. I grinned slyly, trying to cover my embarrassment. "Well, we have all day, and there are no limits on visiting hours here," I whispered. I then leaned back on my pillows and put my hands behind my head. "Start talking."

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Well, that was one of the longest chapters I've done. Eight pages-wow! And I got all done in two days. hugs self I'm so happy!

The mystery between the bond of Alex and Axel grows…and the romance seems to grow as well…yay! Anyway, I'll start on the fifth chapter ASAP!

Please R&R! You don't know how much it means to me when readers review my story! But do what you want…I have no power over free will…just don't flame me!!!

The story will get even better though. Well, I hope…alright, see ya later!


	5. Evil Uncle Alert With A Kiss?

Chapter 5-Oh, YEAH! I'm so happy I got this far…it seems that my writer's block is gone…another YEAH! Well, now things are getting interesting! Axel knows something Rina doesn't and is forced to tell her (he doesn't like being called a 'liar')! Will Rina and Axel ever kiss? Why does Rina's uncle want to kill her? And what does Alex have to do with the story? That's all gonna be revealed in this chapter!

And now for the presents…

Arora Borialis

kurenai-yuuhi-rox

Shiba-X

Erika of the Light

Hidca10

schoolgirl-cheesesculpture

James Axel Darkness

**You all get a weapon AND a candy of your choice for giving me nice reviews! Thank you!**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from Kingdom Hearts. I wish I could own Axel, but I can't. I only own Rina.

On with the chapter!

**Recap of Chapter Four**

_Axel saw the fierce look in my face and saw that I wasn't joking. He rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled nervously. "Looks like I have a lot of explaining to do,"_

_I finished my eggs and orange juice and leaned in a few inches away from his face like he did me the day before and looked him straight in the eye, but that didn't stop me from blushing. I grinned slyly, trying to cover my embarrassment. "Well, we have all day, and there are no limits on visiting hours here," I whispered. I then leaned back on my pillows and put my hands behind my head. "Start talking."_

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"So let me get this straight," I concluded after Axel explained non-stop for three hours. "You're ranked number eight in an organization of thirteen individuals that don't have any hearts or emotions but are still alive anyway?"

"Yeah…"

"And your leader person wants to make a place called Kingdom Hearts that can make you whole again by using trapped hearts little creepy Shadow creatures use to stay alive?"

"Yup,"

"And the only way you can get these trapped hearts is when this kid with a key for a sword and his friends obliterate them because they get in the way?"

"Right,"

"And this kid thinks that he's wiped out the Organization and this Kingdom Hearts but really hasn't because when you 'die' all you really do is fade away?"

"Yes,"

"And he thinks you're dead right now?"

Axel nodded.

"And Nobodies are empty shells a person leaves behind when they either die slowly or get turned into a Heartless? And when they die slowly they still get turned into a Heartless?"

"Well, aren't you observant!"

"And you say you have power over fire and are my late-best friend's Nobody?"

"Bingo!"

"Wow…so I'm talking to my best friend, only as a different person? Is it like reincarnation? Well, if it is, I don't believe in that kinda stuff, so give me another option!"

Axel shrugged. "Well, you could say that…"

"But you're not Alex?"

"Right. I'm a completely different being. I just made up _half_ of Alex."

"So, where's the other half?"

"Probably dea-I mean, well, um…" It was a shock to see Axel speechless.

"I get it…this Sora kid probably got rid of him."

The redhead regained his composure and shrugged. "It's a possibility."

I rubbed my temples. "Oh! I get everything but it's all really confusing!!!!"

Axel put a comforting hand on my shoulder, making me flush momentarily. "Hey, don't flip out just yet. It took me a few days to actually memorize all of this when I joined the Organization. Half of it was 'blah-blah-blah' to me."

I, stunned by this sudden outburst, began to laugh. Really hard. I don't know whether it was the drugs or not, but it felt _good_. Normal. Before everything in my life crashed.

Axel grinned. "You have a cute laugh and a cute smile. You should do that more often."

I blushed in spite of myself and leaned in a foot from his face. "If you come by more often, maybe I will."

He leaned in so we were six inches apart. "All that for me?" He leaned in a bit more. "I'll come around more often, just to see that."

"Really?" I leaned in so we were only two inches apart.

"Yes," We were getting closer…Axel smelled like the glorious smoldering of a campfire. Warm and inviting. Cozy. A sensation of the greatest security to me.

"Positive?" Only an inch, now.

"Absolutely," Half an inch…quarter of an inch, eighth of an inch…one centimeter…one millimeter…

Our lips were about to touch when I heard an enormous crash in the hall, followed by intense swearing. I pulled back in an instant, the words bringing me back to Earth and the blood from my face. "Oh, crap!"

Axel's eyes looked a bit sad, and I knew mine did as well. "What's wrong?" he asked, his voice laced with concern.

"My Uncle Thomas's here…"

Axel chuckled. "You sound like it's a bad thing,"

"It is a bad thing!" I put my head in my hand and looked at my comrade. "The man hates me!" I hissed. "He thinks everything that goes bad in his life is my fault!"

"Well, that sucks."

"Yes, it does,"

"Should I go, then?" Axel stood up and waited for my answer.

"No!" I shouted, too quick to be a normal outburst. I blushed. "Um…OK, um…hide in the bathroom. Keep the door closed all the way and keep the lights out. And if my uncle starts to come in, hide in the shower. Got it?"

Axel shrugged and smirked. "Memorized." He pointed at his temple and sauntered over to the hospital room bathroom; keeping the lights off and having the door closed all the way.

"Thanks for following orders!" I called out to him.

"No problem!" He replied. "Just tell me when he's gone."

"Don't worry, you'll know."

As if on cue, my uncle, all 250 pound, 6'11 of him burst into my room, his brown eyes flashing with malice. "Rina!" He said gleefully. "Looks like you're finally in your place. Stay here a little longer, would you?" He leaned on the wall and began to laugh hysterically.

"FYI, I'll be out in three weeks,"

"Oh, too bad. You should be in juvie for what you did!"

I emphasized heavily on rolling my eyes at him. "Great, what did I do now?"

"You killed my son! Your cousin!"

"You're kidding, right? He fell asleep at the wheel! It was his fault!"

My uncle then shut the hospital room door leading to the hall and locked it. _Uh-oh_. I thought. An alarm was going off in my head.

Thomas grabbed me by my non-needle-filled arm and held me up, his cold eyes boring into mine. I dangled one foot, five inches above the floor. "You could have woken him up," he said dangerously, his breath smelling of something unimaginable. "You could have done something!" He tossed me to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

"Not my fault _someone _didn't send him to bed on time. Not my fault _someone_ didn't send him to college." My voice dripped with sarcasm, something I had learned long ago from my father and Alex, and was now seeing it through Axel.

My uncle then struck me on the cheek, and I thought he purposely grew his nails just to make a mark on me. I staggered and stumbled to the floor, the weight from the blow knocking me backwards. Long, deep, jagged cuts covered the small scars from the accident, and twice in a short time, I felt something warm ooze down my face. Blood.

He picked me up by my good arm again and I hung like a rag doll. I saw my wounds drip red raindrops on the floor. Thomas chuckled sadistically at my helplessness. "Look at you," he sneered. "Still skinny as a twig and twice as breakable." His huge hand that was wrapped around my arm tightened so, and I was about to scream in pain but my uncle's other hand stopped me by clapping it over my mouth tightly. "No, no, no," he whispered sweetly in my ear. "No need to get anyone involved."

It wasn't like when Axel covered my mouth to merely shut me up and prove my fiery streak, and this time, obviously unlike the time with the redhead, I felt afraid. Very afraid. My uncle had a bloodlust like a vampire to a virgin, and I, the victim, couldn't do anything since my arms were pinned to my side. But…my legs were free. But my arm could be broken in the process. That caught me in a pickle. Until…

I felt a cold piece of metal at my throat. A hunting knife. This was the opportunity I was looking for…at least I thought. At least my arms were free now.

But I wasn't stupid. Neither was Thomas. He knew my plan and if I punched him in the stomach, he would fall back and send the knife streaming into my jugular. He was clever, almost cleverer then Alex had been. Which was too much.

"Now you see what having a torn-open throat is all about," The knife went even closer to my veins. "You'll meet your end just like your cousin did. My dear niece, prepare to see what having a torn-open throat _feels_ like. Prepare yourself to die…"

I gave a muffled scream behind his hand and I gave everything I had to get out of this evil relative's grasp. I bit his hand, I kicked in the most sensitive of places for a man, and I tried to pry his hand off my mouth so I could _really _scream, but nothing worked. The weeks at the hospital had made me powerless and ineffective. Tears of pain, terror, and humiliation streamed down my face and stinged as it met with the wounds on my left cheek.

He laughed and readied his knife to slice my throat. "Prepare to die…now!"

----If I was evil, this is where I would put a cliffhanger right here. But I'm not evil, so I'm just gonna continue with the story.----

Of course, that was when all hell broke loose. Almost in the literal sense, seeing who it was. Axel burst out of the bathroom, two flaming, spiked, red and silver chakram spinning in his large, slender hands at his sides. He held them at ease, his posture hunched over and relaxed, but his eyes spoke the truth. He was ready to fight to the death if he had to, and nothing would change his point of view.

"Who are you, shrimp?" My uncle cackled at Axel's lean frame and relaxed fighting position like a madman. I smiled behind the bloodthirsty man's hand, relieved to actually see that Axel broke orders.

"What's it to you?" His boldness was astounding. And slightly stupid. My uncle wasn't one who liked disrespect. "Let's just say I'm an enemy to you and a friend to Rina. Put her down and leave. You've done enough harm to her already. Got it memorized?"

Thomas dropped the knife and tried to grab Axel by the throat, but he danced out of the man's reach. "Who are you to tell me that I can and can't do to my niece? I'm a foot taller than you; I could snap your neck in a second-no, a half a second!"

Axel was not dancing around the room anymore, but was almost skipping in place, his feet not even rising a few centimeters from the linoleum. He was twirling his chakram, wisely out of my uncle's range. "Oh, really?" He smirked, his glowing aqua-green eyes flashing with excitement. "The bigger they are, the harder they fall. And, for the record, killing a close relative isn't the nicest thing to do. Commit it to memory."

Distracted by this snide comment, Thomas dropped me to the floor, where I lay there, gasping for normal breath again. Axel stood in front of me to defend me, his chakram swaying. "What do you think you could do to me, shrimp?" He asked Axel. "Spear me with those toy wheels of yours?" He laughed like a madman once more.

Axel's eyes widened. My uncle had dissed his weapons, hurt me, and now, he was gonna pay. "Toy wheels, eh?" Axel asked Thomas quietly, not looking at him, a small smirk playing on his lips. He glanced down at me, and I nodded a fragment of an inch, understanding what event was about to take place.

The chakram began to spin in his hands, and hot flames began to form around them almost like magic, yet Axel did not get burned. "What's so toy about _this_?!" He shot the spiked wheels at my uncle, who was stunned to see such a sight, and hit him square in his broad chest, singeing his shirt that was soaked with the blood from my face. He kept hitting Thomas with the chakram, but they always returned to his hands, making the weapons look like a pair of yo-yos.

My uncle finally passed out to the floor and Axel opened a portal and kicked him inside. The portal closed, and the atmosphere in the room lifted. His chakram vanished with a blast of smoke, and he hurried over to me to help me up. "You OK?" He asked, his personality softened, and examined my new wounds.

"No! He'll be back for me!" After Axel helped me up, I went over to open and unlock the door. "I'll never be rid of him! And what am I gonna do about _this_?!" I demanded, pointing at the left side of my face. I plopped back onto the hospital bed.

Axel pulled out a small bottle of bright green liquid from a hidden pocket in his coat. "Here, drink this. I meant to give it to you yesterday, but it slipped my mind."

"What is it?" I asked, taking the bottle.

The redhead had started to wipe up the blood on the floor with Clorox wipes that were conveniently placed on the nightstand. He looked up at me, eyes flashing in annoyance. "It's a potion. P-O-T-I-O-N. It'll help that cut on your face and practically…everything else. Got it memorized?"

"Got it." I replied, and then looked at it suspiciously. I took the bottle cap off. "Well, bottom's up," I said to myself and drank the potion. The change was astounding. I felt the cut on my face dissolve into nothingness. I felt better than I had in a long time. "Wow, it worked!"

He smirked. "I told you."

"Axel?"

His face lost its playfulness. "Yeah?"

"This is the third time you've gotten me out of a tight spot, and I have no way to express my gratitude enough."

"Just smile and laugh! Spending time with you is more than a reward for me. I feel…like I have a heart again…I have something to defend." He sat on my bed right next to me.

"What?" I asked cluelessly.

He leaned in again. "You," he said softly, and he kissed me on the lips.

I was shocked at this gesture at first, not knowing whether to go along with this or slap him, but I thought, _Oh, what the heck. I like him…a lot._ I decided to go along with Plan A: go along with it. I kissed him back, closing my eyes, inhaling his scent of the campfire.

The kiss at first was shy, timid, waiting to come out into the open, but when Axel parted his lips slightly, I followed suit. To my surprise, I twined my arms around his neck and felt even more drawn into a kiss then I would ever dream of. But his lips were so soft…and smooth…and warm…and I loved it. I loved _him_.

In fact, I was even tempted to thrust my tongue into his mouth, but I knew I had to set the good example here, so I kept my naughty tongue behind closed teeth. Mostly.

Axel put his hand gently around my neck in the most delicate chokehold and I could tell he was doing the same thing I was doing: he wanted to be a good example as well, which amused me. I wanted to laugh, but I didn't. I only smiled, which is kinda hard to do when you're in a lip-lock with your savior, but I smiled nonetheless. I could feel Axel smiling, too.

After about an eternity to both of us, we pulled back. "That was some first kiss," I breathed. "Yours, too?"

"Yeah."

We leaned in again for another session, and this time, it lasted even longer. More passionate. Rougher. Letting go of innocence. Yet I loved every second of it. Everything was right with the world, except…

"Am I disturbing a moment?"

We pulled back instantaneously as an act of instinct and turned to the sound of the voice. A guy with a dark blond mullhawk with a uniform like Axel was wearing was watching us intently.

"Demyx!" Axel cried, his face turning red with fury. "What are you doing here?!"

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Sorry for the wait…cursed writer's block.

OK, _this_ chapter was the longest one I've ever done! I'm so happy it's just finally done. Now I can start…well…on the next one!

So the romance has started…YEAH!!!!...and Demyx is probably busted by Axel…what will happen to poor Demy? I'll start on the next chappie ASAP!

Please R&R! I'll give you…well…I'm not sure what present I'll give you, but I promise it'll be good!


	6. More Intros and a Nervous Breakdown

Sorry for such a long wait…the writer's block has been atrocious and I finally got rid of it! So, yeah, sorry about the wait!

I'm on my way to the tenth chapter! Oh, yes…power! It feels so good to be this far!!! Now things are getting even more interesting! Axel has professed that he must defend Rina after saving her from her avenging uncle, Rina loves Axel and he loves her back, and Demyx has joined the story at the most inopportune moment…when the pair are kissing…is Demyx busted? Will Axel blow his top? This chapter explains it all!

Now, for the gifts…

Xed14thKey

Shiba-X

HyperShadowGirl11228

James Axel Darkness

Hidca10

ArtemisBlack555

**You get an Organization cloak and your favorite Organization weapon (or any KH weapon, for that matter…) for giving me a nice review! Thanks!!!**

Disclaimer: Oh, you know. I don't own anything except Rina…so, yeah. Especially the 'On Fire' lyrics…those are by Switchfoot.

Chapter Six is starting…now!

**Recap of Chapter Five**

_After about an eternity to both of us, we pulled back. "That was some first kiss," I breathed. "Yours, too?"_

"_Yeah."_

_We leaned in for another session, and this time, it lasted even longer. More passionate. Rougher. Letting go of innocence. Yet I loved every second of it. Everything was right with the world, except…_

"_Am I disturbing a moment?"_

_We pulled back instantaneously as an act of instinct and turned to the sound of the voice. A guy with a dark blond mullhawk with a uniform like Axel was watching us intently._

"_Demyx!" Axel cried, his face turning red with fury. "What are you doing here?!"_

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"Demyx," Axel muttered quietly, his fists shaking with rage.

"Axel, I-um…" The younger member's emerald green eyes began to dilate with fear.

"Demyx," His eyes were cold and dangerous, like they had been when attacking my uncle.

"I suppose I should've knocked first, huh?"

"Demyx," Axel stood up, and I began to see tiny sparks igniting in his hands as his chakram took form again.

The one called Demyx sank to his knees. "I'm sorry, Axel!" he cried, and began to grasp at Axel's coat. "Please! Hear me out! If you wanted to kiss a pretty girl like _that_, then would it be possible to close the door next time so I could knock?! Please!"

"Get off, Demyx!" Axel moaned, annoyed. He put a foot on Demyx's shoulder and pushed him back, making the pleading boy let go of his coat hem.

Time for me to become part of the conversation. "And, well, um…it came as a…surprise. We weren't expecting it. Or at least I wasn't." I explained, color rushing to my cheeks as I thought about _kissing_ Axel. My first kiss. His, too.

My comment brought the blond up on his feet, trying to regain his composure. "Oh," he said as coolly as he could muster, dusting himself off. "And who you might be?"

Demyx looked like he was around 16 and was approximately 5'9. His eyes were, as I said, a bright emerald green, and his hair, like I also said, was a dark blond mullhawk framing his ivory face, and when he saw me, his frightened features relaxed and his full lips burst forth into a cute smile, showing his dazzling white teeth. He was lean, though still not as lean as Axel, but had small, delicate hands with long, slender fingers. His legs, though covered by his coat save for an opening where the zipper ended, were long and thin, just like his arms and the rest of his body was. On immediate closer examination, I saw that his small, delicate hands with the long, slender fingers were the tools of a musician of some sort. His eyes had a distinct, almost non-existent intelligence radiating under the florescent lighting of the hospital bedroom, intelligence that could probably be uncovered with time and effort. The sudden cockiness in his grin told me that the intruder was still a child at heart and had the craving for attention from anyone that moved. That suspicion brought me to believe that he thought he was God's gift to women.

I rolled my eyes at his sudden suaveness. Axel was the one I wanted, and he was the one I'd ever need. "Rina," I said quickly. "And you're Demyx, I'm guessing."

"Rina," He purred my name with a flourish. "I'm honored to meet your acquaintance. Nice choice, Axe," Demyx muttered to Axel. "Smart, pretty, and nice. What more could you ask for?"

"Shut up, Demyx," Axel's face had surprisingly gone red, and he was still probably ticked from his counterpart's sudden intrusion.

I felt myself growing hot. I hated how people talked about me as if I wasn't there. "Hi!" I said sarcastically, waving my good hand in Demyx's face. "I'm still here. I'm not invisible, and I'm not deaf! Stop acting like I am!" My fists were shaking with an unseen fury I had never felt before. "And there's more to me than just being smart, pretty, and nice. You haven't seen my wild side."

The blond hid behind Axel and peeked over his shoulder to look at my insulted face. It was a bit amusing to watch him. "Yep, she's definitely yours," he stuttered, his scared expression making me feel kinda guilty. "No one has a temper like that besides you." He patted the redhead's shoulder almost sympathetically. "Good luck with that. I guess I'll just be…" he inched towards the door and pointed his thumb towards the hall. "…going now…"

Axel narrowed his eyes. "Oh, no, you don't. I'm not done with you yet!" He growled, pulling Demyx back by his hood. "You still didn't answer my Q."

"Oh, that!" The boy rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, Roxas was wondering where you were…you have a DDR tournament today, remember?"

Axel slapped his forehead. "Oh, crap! I forgot about that!"

"Yeah, you were probably too preoccupied with lip-locking to remember," Demyx said with a smirk.

"Are you kiddin' me?!?" I screeched. "You think a kiss would make someone forget a dance tournament?!?"

Demyx nudged Axel and nodded. "It all depends on _who_ you kiss. Right, Axel?"

My fighting blood was boiling and I was tempted to tackle this newcomer. "FYI, Axel wasn't here _just_ to kiss me. He saved me from my uncle, and he told me all about your little Organization that wants to become whole again!"

"Really? I think you did more then what you said, Rina."

Axel punched him on the back of the head. Hard. "Seriously, Demyx. Stop blaming things on _that_. You just don't know kissing someone you love feels yet!"

"Oh, uh-huh. Yeah, right. Lemme guess: 'Maybe when you're older', right? Ouch." Demyx rolled his eyes and rubbed the spot where Axel hit.

"No…you don't even have the guts to talk to a girl!"

"Why, I outta…." Demyx balled up a fist and shook it in Axel's face. A shot of water hit Axel on the forehead, flattened a few of his shorter spikes, and began to steam….

"Demyx, I'm gonna freakin' _KILL YOU_!!!"

"Oh, crap, Axel, no!" Demyx's face went white.

"_YOU BETCHA I AM_!!!" Axel's chakram materialized in his hands and he readied himself to throw them at Demyx. I watched, half-terrified, half-interested.

"Axel, please, don't hurt me! It was an accident, I swear!" Demyx hid his face in his hands and prepared for the worst.

"_SHUT UP_!!!" A new, younger voice was heard over the bickering, and I turned to see a blond kid with a serious case of bedhead walk in, rubbing his temples. "Sheesh, you guys are all giving me a headache!"

"Roxas," Axel acknowledged quietly, his anger vanishing in a flash. He walked over to the newcomer and held up his hand for a high-five. Roxas returned it weakly, then crossed his arms and pursed his lips in a pout. "Sorry I forgot about the DDR rematch today, but I…"

"Axel, the tournament isn't until 4:00 P.M. That's three hours from now,"

"Then what's your problem?!"

"This is a _hospital_, meaning_ some_ people are trying to sleep…and here you and Demyx are, arguing like there's no tomorrow, and in front of a girl!"

"So?" Axel and Demyx asked in unison.

Roxas scowled. "So, you might want to, I don't know, _stop_ before anyone complains." He then turned his attention to me. "Hi…" He said wearily.

All of a sudden, I felt self-conscious in my tied-in-the-back hospital gown. It had been different with Axel there, and I really didn't care about Demyx's untimely entrance, but now with three heaven-sent-looking guys watching me, waiting for my reply to Roxas's greeting, I felt like I needed to cover myself, to pull my long, mostly bare, stick-like legs to my somewhat flat chest and wrap my long, half covered, stick-like arms around my bare, bony knees, only I didn't. I gave a small smile, shy and intimidated. "Hi," I replied back, looking the little guy over.

Roxas looked younger and was shorter than anyone else in the hospital room at that time, being an approximate age of 15 and at the approximate height of 5'5. His spiky bedhead was a golden blond, and his big eyes were the color of perfect sapphires, brimming with a great intelligence. His light tan face was heart-shaped and his full lips were now pursed in a curious pout as he looked me over thoroughly. He, like Axel and Demyx, was very lean and muscular, but less developed as the other two. His arms hadn't gained serious visible muscle yet, and he looked like he was still waiting for his puberty growth spurt, for his hands and feet were much bigger then they should have been. He looked much more serious than the other two members of Organization XIII.

Unlike his counterparts, Roxas wore an outfit consisting of a black zip-up tank top with a peculiar 'X'-looking shape for the zipper pull, an open white short-sleeved jacket with a black-and-white checkerboard design on the chest, shoulder, and back area with a high red collar, khaki cargos with a bit of army green going from the thigh to the waistband, and a pair of black moccasin-style sneakers with grey soles and red laces. On his left wrist he wore a black-and-white checkered wristband; on his pointer finger of his left hand he wore a black band-type ring, and on his left middle finger he wore a white one.

"I'm Roxas," he said to me, smiling and extending his hand. "Who're you?" I stood up to return his greeting.

"I'm Rina," I answered back politely, shaking his hand, trusting its firm grip. "It's nice to meet you, Roxas. What are you doing here?"

"Yeah, Roxas, what_ are_ you doing here?" Axel asked, leaning against the wall, his arms crossed at his chest. I walked over and stood next to him.

Roxas sighed and sat down on my bed. "I was wondering where you two were. Zexion said you were in a hospital somewhere, and that worried me. I mean, if you were in the hospital, were you hurt or something like that. I asked Zexion, and he said Axel was visiting a girl at the hospital he had met the day before. Demyx went to check it out, him being too nosy," He paused to glare at Demyx. "and Zexion said that Axel's and Rina's scents were intermingled, meaning they were kissing or close to making out, as soon as Demyx left."

I glanced at Axel, returning his small smile and blush, and then let him take my hand and interlock his fingers with mine.

Roxas cleared his throat and continued. "I knew that Demyx was gonna be in deep trouble, so I got ready to go, made sure I looked at least somewhat like a normal person, and opened a portal to go help him out, but Zexion told me to wait until the pair's scents weren't intermingled anymore, since Axel would be ticked enough with Demyx as it was, so I waited until he gave me the OK. When he did, I hightailed it out of there and I saw _you two_," He pointed at Axel and Demyx. "preparing to kill each other!"

"Well, Demyx just _had _to barge in," Axel hissed. "He didn't knock…."

"Hey, the door was open, alright? I didn't mean to!" Demyx barked back.

Roxas got up quickly; looking very ticked off, grabbed Demyx by the upper arm, and headed for the door. "We'll see you back at base, Axel." He then turned to me. "It was nice meeting you, Rina." And then he and Demyx walked into a portal and disappeared, the door closing behind them.

I chuckled and moved back to my bed. "So those are your friends, eh?"

Axel shrugged, moving from the wall to sit next to me on my bed again. "We're a weird bunch, aren't we? We have weird lives." He smirked.

I threw my hands up in the air, somewhat exasperated."Not as weird as what's happened with me. Car accidents, relatives and close friends dying, a murderous psycho uncle and a divorced aunt. Now that's a weird life."

"Beggars can't be choosers, right?"

"Yeah. Say, listen, Axel, I can't thank you enough for saving me from my uncle."

Axel leaned in about an inch away from my face without touching my lips. "Don't worry about it. You gave me a kiss, didn't you? That was a 'thank you' enough for me."

I brought my legs up on the bed and wrapped my arms around my knees. "True…that _was_ a pretty good kiss…I don't think it could even be called that, especially when your tongue brushed against the roof of my mouth." I looked at Axel and smiled, laying my head on my knees. "Will you guys come back?"

Axel's eyes widened just a hair. "All three of us?!"

"Mostly you. Especially you. But I'd like to get to know the other two more. They seem very…interesting." I beamed at him.

"Well, I-" Axel was beginning to reply, but then the door burst open, Demyx and Roxas falling forward, Roxas still on Demyx's shoulders. They had been eavesdropping on us, and the sight of them falling was hilarious to behold.

"_YOU GUYS ARE SO DEAD!!!!_" Axel cried, brandishing his chakram again, and the two ran into a portal, laughing their heads off. The redhead prepared to chase after them, but then stopped in front of me and gave me a peck on the cheek. "I gotta go," he said with a smirk and spinning his weapons almost in a show-offy way. "It's time to show a certain pair what happens to guys who get in my path." He opened a portal and began to run in. "See ya around, Rina!"

"Don't hurt them too much!" I called out to him.

Axel turned around and smirked even bigger. "I can't make any promises," he said with a laugh and a shrug. "You'll just have to see what happens."

He turned and walked into the portal, leaving me alone in my room laughing to myself. This was the start of a beautiful, if not weird, friendship.

* * *

The next three weeks were a few of the best ones I'd had in a long time. Axel, Demyx, and Roxas would come every morning at 9:30, and wouldn't leave until 3:00 PM. Axel came an hour before they did, and an hour after they left. 

We never got tired of talking, save for when Demyx played a few tunes on his sitar, his gorgeous tenor voice serenading anyone who cared to listen. Axel would tell stories about his Other Alex and me in his own crazy way, making me look like a sugar-hyped 10-year-old and a 16-year-old gentleman-type hero, which made me tell the stories the _real _way they happened. Roxas listened most of the time, and told us how Sora was like and how his friends, Riku and Kairi, were like. The three of them told me about the misadventures they'd experienced, all the pranks they had pulled, even imitating the helpless Organization victims, making me laugh.

But when Demyx asked about me, about my side of the story, I refused to tell any of them, including when it was just Axel and me. There was too much crap in my life that I didn't want to remember and that I didn't want anyone else to experience. So I just shook my head and told the trio there was nothing special about me whenever the mullhawked blond asked me that question until Axel smacked him on the back of the hand to make him shut up.

* * *

It was my last day at the hospital and Axel hadn't come yet. Every needle in my body had been removed, and I was in my room, fully dressed in what I would usually wear, save for my shoes. It felt weird, wearing normal clothes again, but I still felt more comfortable. 

But there was something I wanted to do that I hadn't done in a long time. I wanted to sing. I sat by the window and that's exactly what I did.

_They tell you where you need to go,_

_Tell you when you when you need to leave._

_They tell you what you need to know,_

_Tell you who you need to be._

_But everything inside you know there's more than what you've heard_

_There's so much more than empty conversations filled with empty words._

_And you're on fire when he's near you,_

_You're on fire when he speaks,_

_You're on fire burning at these mysteries._

_Give me one more time around,_

_Give me one more chance to see_

_Give me everything you are_

_Give me one more chance to be near you_

_When everything inside me looks like everything I hate _

_You are the hope I have for change _

_You are the only chance I'll take_

_And I'm on fire when you're near me_

_I'm on fire when you speak_

_I'm on fire burning at these mysteries_

_Mysteries_

_Mysteries_

_You're on fire_

_You're on fire _

_You're on fire_

_I'm standing on the edge of me_

_I'm standing on the edge of me_

_I'm standing on the edge of me_

_I'm standing on the edge of everything I've never been before_

_And I've been standing on the edge of me_

_Standing on the edge _

_And I'm on fire when you're near me_

_I'm on fire when you speak_

_I'm on fire burning at these mysteries_

_These mysteries_

_These mysteries_

_You're a mystery_

_You're a mystery_

I walked over to my bed and laid sideways on it, eyes closed, the song still in my head.

_I'm on fire when he's near me_

_I'm on fire when he speaks _

_I'm on fire burning at these mysteries_

_These mysteries_

_You're a mystery_

All was silent, and I got up and sat by the window again when I heard a one-man applause. I stood up and whirled around only to meet Axel's glowing aqua-green eyes. "Axel, I-"

Axel put a gloved finger over my lips. "So, there's nothing special about you, huh?" He said with a small smile. "I suppose I could disagree."

"Axel," I mumbled behind his finger. "I didn't know you were here. You're fifteen minutes early."

He shrugged as I said this, and removed his hand. "Hey, I can come unannounced, can't I?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"But you didn't want me to hear you sing. I get it." He crossed his arms and smirked.

"I'm sorta…insecure when it comes to that stuff." I put my hands behind my back and looked to the floor like a kid at the spelling bee with a difficult word.

"Why?"

"I just…don't think I'm that good."

Axel's eyes went wide. "Are you kidding? Demyx doesn't sing as well as you!"

I looked up and gave him a grin. "Thanks. But there was more than one reason you came here early. What's the other reason?"

Axel rubbed the back of the back of his neck with a shaking right hand. His face had gone pale, and a small sheen of sweat was visible on his upper lip from where I could see. I had never seen him so…nervous before. It seemed to be against his protocol.

"Rina, would you…like to go out sometime? You know as...boyfriend and…" he gulped. "…girlfriend?"

I took this question in. "Girlfriend?"

"Yeah."

"This isn't a joke, right? No Roxas and Demyx waiting to jump out and scream 'Gotcha!' right?"

"No joke."

"Positive?"

"Yes. Absolutely."

I sighed, and then beamed. "Yes. That sounds perfect. Axel and Rina."

"Rina and Axel. Commit it to memory" Axel wrapped his arms around my waist, and he lay sideways on the bed, with me lying curled up comfortably against his chest, locked within the cage of his embrace, listening to his steady breathing, and-could it be?-a faint heartbeat.

"Y-yeah." A tear streamed down my cheek, then another, then another. I began sobbing on his chest, much to my humiliation.

He put his hand through my loose hair and stroked it softly, gently smoothing out any minute snarls that I had missed with my hairbrush getting ready that morning. "It's OK, Rina. It's OK." He murmured softly, making me cry more.

"I'm so sorry, Axel, I've just always been…alone. For five years, no one…absolutely no one…." I had begun to spill my guts. "I'm tired of running away from my problems, but I know I _cannot_ go back to that hellhole of a school, to that hellhole of a house, where I'll be alone all the time!" I began to clutch at his coat desperately, hungrily, almost greedily, making sure that he was real, alive, in my grasp. "I want to stay with you, live where you live, go where you go…even sleep where you sleep, if necessary!" I whispered, my head buried in his chest. I continued to whisper. "Just promise me one thing, Axel, please."

"Yeah, sure, anything."

"Don't ever leave me alone again. Please don't ever leave me."

Axel looked me in the eye and smiled with complete honesty. "I won't be planning on it anytime soon."

666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666

Whew! 11 pages! Now things are getting more and more interesting by the minute. What will happen after this? Chapter 7 is coming soon, so please R&R!

Author's Note: I will not be writing for at least two weeks or so due to a busy month, so please be patient and wait a little longer than usual for the next chapter. I'm sorry for the wait on this one, but the previous week has been busy as well. So spare me here! I'll probably start writing again in two to three weeks, so until then, thanks for your patience!

FireWaterLightDark7890


	7. Warnings, Meetings, and Awakenings

Hello, everyone! I'm back in business! Yus! I'm so happy to be back! I was on a family vacation and...well...it didn't go so hot...T-T...

But anyway, I'm up and ready to start the seventh chappie! The romance seems to keep growing between Axel and Rina, since they are now officially boyfriend and girlfriend-yay! How will Roxas and Demyx react to this? Will they be jealous or will they cozy up to two other OC's revealed in this chapter? How will Rina fight Heartless without any weapons?!? And why is Saix present in Rina's mind? Or is he? All of this will be shown in the seventh chapter!

**Present time!!!**

breezy034

Keiko Tenyoku

Xed14thKey

Shiba-X

schoolgirl-cheesesculpture

Hidca10

James Axel Darkness

PhantomXXJedi

HyperShadowGirl11228

The Faded Guardian

popcornlover453

**You get an entire Organization membership uniform(Yes, it's true! Everything you need to become an Organization member! You don't even have to lose your heart if you don't want to!), any KH weapon you desire(if you reviewed this story for CH.5, you can get another weapon of your choosing, even another of the same one if you'd like), and a plushie of your choice portraying your favorite KH character! Thanks for the nice reviews!**

Disclaimer: Argh, you know! I don't own anything or anyone except the three out of five OC's, Rina, Natalie, and April. There's two more I own, but they come up later.

Chapter Seven starts...now!

**Recap of Chapter Six**

_"Rina, would you…like to go out sometime? You know as...boyfriend and…" he gulped. "…girlfriend?"_

_I took this question in. "Girlfriend?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"This isn't a joke, right? No Roxas and Demyx waiting to jump out and scream 'Gotcha!' right?"_

_"No joke."_

_"Positive?"_

_"Yes. Absolutely."_

_I sighed, and then beamed. "Yes. That sounds perfect. Axel and Rina."_

_"Rina and Axel. Commit it to memory" Axel wrapped his arms around my waist, and he lay sideways on the bed, with me lying curled up comfortably against his chest, locked within the cage of his embrace, listening to his steady breathing, and-could it be?-a faint heartbeat._

_"Y-yeah." A tear streamed down my cheek, then another, then another. I began sobbing on his chest, much to my humiliation._

_He put his hand through my loose hair and stroked it softly, gently smoothing out any minute snarls that I had missed with my hairbrush getting ready that morning. "It's OK, Rina. It's OK." He murmured softly, making me cry more._

_"I'm so sorry, Axel, I've just always been…alone. For five years, no one…absolutely no one…." I had begun to spill my guts. "I'm tired of running away from my problems, but I know I cannot go back to that hellhole of a school, to that hellhole of a house, where I'll be alone all the time!" I began to clutch at his coat desperately, hungrily, almost greedily, making sure that he was real, alive, in my grasp. "I want to stay with you, live where you live, go where you go…even sleep where you sleep, if necessary!" I whispered, my head buried in his chest. I continued to whisper. "Just promise me one thing, Axel, please."_

_"Yeah, sure, anything."_

_"Don't ever leave me alone again. Please don't ever leave me."_

_Axel looked me in the eye and smiled with complete honesty. "I won't be planning on it anytime soon."_

**777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777**

We laid there in the silence of the hospital room, just listening to my ragged breathing grow softer and softer until it was normal once more. I lost track of time and felt my eyelids grow heavier as I listened to Axel's new heartbeat. He seemed to be either asleep or resting. By the sound of his breathing, definitely sleeping. Just like Alex, sleeping all the time. His eyes even twiched like Alex's did when he was asleep, and his nose crinkled up, too. I laughed to myself before drifting off to sleep as well.

_Thu-thump_

_Thu-thump_

_Thu-thump_

_Thu-thump_

_Thu-thump_

_Thu-thump_

* * *

But...how? How can someone who doesn't have a heart, someone who lost it to _darkness_, have a suddenly healthily beating heart? It seemed illogical to me, but in the back of my head, the same voice that had told me not to trust Axel whispered,_"His heart recovered when he kissed you the first time. It was a strange mere act of instinct that he recscued you from the wreckage, from death, your uncle, but he was drawn to you, because his Other was drawn to you when he was alive. When his lips made contact with yours, he felt that he was whole again, still a Nobody, but a Nobody with a heart._ You_ saved _him_."_

The voice in my head did not seem familiar to me, not now, not before. Yet it didn't seem to disturb me. It was a man's voice, not too high but not too deep, and almost comforting in a way, quiet and gentle, as if it was about to serenade me to sleep. But it wasn't any voice I knew. _"Who are you?" _I silently asked it. _"Give me your name." _I looked around, and saw that there was nothing but black on all sides...yet I could see myself perfectly.

_"My name is Saix. Number VII of Organization XIII."_

_"But didn't Sora kill you-"_

_"Sora thought he defeated all of us. He was wrong to not double-check that we were_ truly _gone. It was a bit unwise for him not to."_

_"Why did you tell me not to trust Axel?"_

_"He can betray anyone in a heartbeat if he wanted to. Funny he stayed for you. He usually thinks only about himself, how he can save himself from any pain or suffering. He must like you."_

_"But _you _don't like_ him_,"_ It was not a question, but a statement. _"He's the exact opposite of you. He told me _you're_ the uptight one, the one with no emotions, the guy that goes berserk every time he basks in a moonbeam. _You_ tried to kill Axel more than once, and _you_ kidnapped Kairi just to pour gasoline on Sora's fire! That's not right!"_

A portal appeared about six feet in front of me and a tall, muscular man with an Organization uniform appeared. The first thing I noticed about him was his hair, long and blue with spikes in the back, framing his set jaw and pale face, his pointed, Elven-style ears peeking up over his hair, and his cold, dead-looking golden-fire eyes, which seemed to be glaring at me. His scowl wrinkled his nose, on which there was a scar in the shape of a perfect 'X'. "I can see we're not going to get along well, Rina."

"What are you doing in my head?!?" I screeched frantically. "What do you want from me?!?"

My sudden outburst caused Saix to smirk, and, unlike Axel's smirk, chilled me to the marrow. "Don't trust anyone from the Organization, not even the ones closest to you."

I immediately thought of Axel, Demyx, Roxas and me laughing our heads off. "I'm not gonna believe that. It's the members that _aren't _closest that I'll _think_ to worry about."

Saix strode up to me and, all of a sudden, grabbed my right wrist, pulled off the sweatband I had around it, and cut the skin open with a small kunai dagger. Axel had told me about Larxene's weapons, and how they looked and conducted electricity, and as Saix made a small slit in my wrist, I swore to myself that I had felt a small shock enter my bloodstream.

"Hey! Hey_-let go!"_ I struggled against his grasp when I felt the blade against my flesh, but he was unwavering. "_What the crap are you doing?!"_ I snarled, completely fuming, the vein on my wrist and the vein in my temple pulsating as one. "_Are you freakin' tryin' to kill me?!"_

As I tried to pull my wrist back, more dark red pumped from the new wound and I gasped softly. If I panicked anymore, if I yanked back, I would probably bleed to death. And Saix, the 'cold one with no emotions', probably wouldn't give a crap if I did.

This was not a dream, my common sense told me, it was something out of the ordinary. Saix was not in my head. The pain of my wrist slowly being constricted by a ruthless member of Organization XIII was all too real. I reached behind me and pinched the back of my thigh. A slight jolt went through my body, and I accidentally pulled back on my wrist again. Beads of blood blossomed to the site and flowed even more and made my stomach flutter and my heart race. Yup, I was definitely awake.

"You have quite a temper," Saix muttered as he pulled out a small glass vial from, as Axel described it, Vexen, and began dripping my blood into the tube. "Firey,"

"No, really, you think?" My biting tone was all too just for this moment. But, sheesh, it took a lot to get this guy angry. "Why are you doing errands for Vexen, if _you're_ second-in-command?" I tried to keep my voice uncaring and tough, but I was a bit curious nonetheless.

"I follow Xemnas's orders, and this was my mission." He squeezed at my wrist to get more blood out, and I fought back tears of pain. Was he _trying_ to hurt me?

"Oh, OK, his 'mission'," I paused to make quotation marks with my free hand and rolled my eyes. "His mission was for you to slit my wrist and kill me from blood loss. I get it."

He looked up, and his glare silenced my sharp tongue. "No. Vexen was occupied today by an experiment dissection gone wrong. Xemnas ordered me to find you and take a sample of blood."

"From my_ wrist_? Don't you know you could _kill_ someone if you cut too deep?" My voice had lost its sarcastic tone for a note of concern.

"Of course I know."

"Then why cut there?"

"It's where the richest type is. The thickest, the reddest, the purest, and the most experiment-friendly." He pulled the vial back, its content full, and put a rubber stopper in the opening of the vial, so that it wouldn't spill.

"But why do you need _my_ blood?" I demanded as Saix wrapped a bandage around my wrist and handed me my sweatband. I pulled it on over the gauze. "What's so friggin special about it?"

Before Saix walked into the dark portal that appeared, he turned to look at me with an unintelligible expression. "The less you know, the better."

* * *

My eyes cracked open as I saw two other pairs of eyes watching me, one being emerald green, the other sapphire blue. The green eyes were sparkling maliciously. "What?" I yawned, then noticed I was still curled up on Axel. Uh-oh. Demyx plus Roxas plus the fact that I had fallen asleep in Axel's arms (who was_ still _asleep) equals... 

"BLACKMAIL!!!! YEAH! I GOT BLACKMAIL PHOTOS!!!" Demyx clutched and hugged at the camera on the strap on his chest, jumping up and down and kissing it, almost making out with it.

"Ew." Roxas commented as he saw this sight.

* * *

Meanwhile, in The Castle That Never Was...

"Ugh," The boy held his head in his hand.

"What's the matter, Zexion?"

"Lexaeus, Demyx is making out with a camera."

"How can you tell?"

"Cameras have scents too, you know. And when the scent of rain and burnt plastic mix together, it's not all that pleasent."

"Ah."

* * *

Back to the Story

Axel shot up immediately from Demyx's untimely wake-up call, and I slid ungracefully from his chest to his lap, then gently hopped off milliseconds before he rose from the bed. "Demyx, hand 'em over," He held out his hand and waited for Demyx to drop the pictures into his hand.

"No way! BLACKMAIL PHOTOS!"

"Give 'em to me or I'll burn 'em."

"You'll burn 'em anyway, Axel!"

"He's got a point, you know." Roxas mused.

All was silent for a few minutes, the trio waiting for_ someone_ to make a move. They didn't think that I would.

"Ha!" I laughed as I snatched the pictures from Demyx's unsuspecting hand and the camera from his neck.

"Hey! Give them back!" He cried and desperately tried to catch me. Axel and Roxas looked on curiously, with hints of smiles on their faces.

I shook my head. "Nope!"

"Please?"

"Nuh-uh!"

"I'll give you candy!"

"I'll pass on that one!"

"Come on!"

"I don't think so!"

The mullhawked blond fell to the floor and began to plead. "_Please! I'll give you anything!_"

"I'm perfectly satisfied with what I already have." I said maturely with a wayward glance in Axel's direction.

"Crap!"

After rising from the linoleum, Demyx leaned crossed his arms over his chest and stuck out his lip like a 3-year-old. "Fine." He muttered.

Axel's eyes widened a bit as a thought, a memory, came to his mind. "Oh, man. Guys, I need to ask Xemnas something. Fifteen minutes tops. Got it memorized?"

Although I was itching to ask him what he needed to ask the boss, I replied the expected "Got it". He then grabbed the pictures, stepped through a portal and vanished.

When Axel had disappeared completely, I tossed the camera to Roxas. "Here. It's Pence's, right?" I pulled on my shoes and socks.

Roxas caught with his right hand and beamed. "Yeah. Thanks!"

As I tied my Converse, I felt a sharp, painful sting on the inside of my right wrist. When I finished double-knotting the laces, I examined it. Under my wristband was a plainly visible, snowy white bandage soaked with dried blood wrapped expertly around the wound. Another sign that my encounter with Saix had not been a dream.

I suddenly had the uncanny prickling sensation of someone staring at me without blinking, and when I looked up, it turned out to be Demyx, who seemed to be done pouting for a while. His mouth had dropped open when he saw me look up at him, and momentarily after that, Roxas, with a weirded-out look on his face, closed it with a sharp_ click_. "Get your tongue off the floor, Demyx." His voice and expression was now extremely annoyed and a bit grossed out.

"What is it, Demyx?" I asked out of curiousity.

"N-nothing."

"Yes, there is!"

"N-no, there's not."

"Yes, there is, Demyx." Roxas interrupted.

"What the crap is it, Demyx?!" I crossed my arms across my chest and tapped my foot impatiently. "Well?" My lips morphed into a scowl, waiting for his answer, and I sat on the bed.

Demyx thrust his hands into his coat pockets and brought his shoulders up to his ears. "Umm...where'd Axel go again?" He glanced around the room anxiously, then jogged to the doorframe and poked his head out into the hospital hallway, calling out, "Axel!"

Roxas, now really ticked off, rose from his chair and pulled Demyx back into the room by grabbing his upper arms and dragging him backwards effortlessly. "You know darn well where Axel is," He snarled. "Get back in here!"

"What are you-_hey_! Whoa! Roxas, let me go!" Demyx began to protest this action, but Roxas wouldn't give in.

"Then don't do that! Sheesh!" The younger blond rolled his eyes and had Demyx sit in the opposite chair he was sitting in.

"Well, what did Axel wanna ask Xemnas?"

"How the heck should I know? He didn't say!"

_"Excuse me!" _I interrupted loudly. "Demyx still needs to answer my question! What's the freakin' _problem_?!?" I could feel the veins pulsating in my temple, and this time it was probably visible to the naked eye.

Demyx brought his ears to his shoulders again, and looked like he was trying to vanish into his coat. "Well, um...hey, look-"

_"Quit stalling!"_

"You don't...dress...the way I thought you would." He turned away and flinched, as if he was expecting a slap to his face.

My fierce expression was instantly replaced with an understanding look. "What?"

"You don't dress the way I thought you would." He repeated, this time more confidently.

I stood up and glanced down to see how I looked and what I was wearing. Red tank top with a black crosshatch pattern on the front and a frayed hem that hovered a half-inch above my belly button. Black cargos with red, green, and navy blue plaid patches and a silver 3-in-1 chain hanging from the belt loops. Black Converse with flames going up the sides. Loose, straight hair with a bright blue pair of welding goggles as a headband. Dad's Celtic pendant on the black leather cord resting in the hollow of my throat. Black and white Switchfoot wristbands on both wrists. 5 tiny silver hoops in each ear: 3 on top, 2 on the bottom. Bright red ring in the the shape of a rose on my left middle finger. Jet black, waterproof liner applied darkly around my eyes. Nothing_ too_ peculiar. "Well, what'd you expect?" I asked defiantly, placing my hand on my hip.

"I dunno," He shrugged. "Something more...girly, you know, no offense."

I looked over to Roxas, who blinked. "Fits her personality, if you ask me."

I grinned. "What do you mean by 'girly', anyway, Demyx? My style is punk rocker. Got a problem with that?"

"Well, n-no, I meant-"

Demyx was interrupted by a _whoosh _of a portal and Axel walked out with a happy smirk. "Hey, hope I'm not cutting in."

Roxas shook his head. "No, we're just talking. Or they are. I'm just listening."

Axel shrugged. "Oh," He went to lean against the wall and crossed his arms. "Hey, guys, listen." He began. "I asked Xemnas if Rina could stay with us-or me-at the castle, since we're a couple now..."

"And?" I could hardly control my excitement. Roxas and Demyx were silent.

"...And, after some fierce negotiations, he said 'yes'." He finished with a small smile.

I squealed happily, dashed up to Axel, wrapped my arms around his neck and embraced him with burning intensity. "ThankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouTHANKYOU!!!" I screamed, giving him a kiss on the cheek. He put his arms around my waist and we spun around in an estatic dance. I felt like a ten-year-old, but I didn't care.

Roxas smiled. "Cool. Another DDR partner. Hey, Dems, isn't that sweet? Rina's coming to stay at the castle!"

Demyx beamed almost_ too_ brightly as he looked at me. "That's _awesome._"

"Well, then, let's go!" Roxas said, opening a portal.

"Oh, no, you don't." I stopped him. "Unlike you three, I have to check out of this dump. Your portal party's just gonna have to wait."

The three of them shrugged at the same time as we walked out of the hospital room which I had practically lived in for six weeks, and good riddence for leaving it. I then shot it the bird, nearly giving an elderly man passing our quartet a heart attack, and we were down the hall, to the elevator, and down at the reception area. We were silent all the way there, basking in our happiness. I walked up to the front desk, leaving Axel, Roxas, and Demyx waiting patiently against the wall.

"Full name, please?" The platinum blond receptionist seemed bored out of her mind.

"Katrinaspencerkendall." I muttered, not wanting anyone to hear my name. I hated it.

"Repeat your name, please."

"Grrrrr...KATRINA...SPENCER...KENDALL!!!!"

"Checking out?" She seemed oblivious to my rage.

"YES!"

She began typing on her computer crap I couldn't understand, and, after a few minutes, said, "You're free to go."

"Thankssss..." I hissed angrily as I trudged to my waiting colleagues. When I got to their resting spot, I snarled, "Let's get the crap outta here."

"Sure," Demyx replied with a small, frightened tone.

"Will do," Roxas murmured politely.

"Are you OK?" Axel breathed into my ear.

My anger had subsided somewhat. "Just don't ask me my full name."

"Don't worry," He said with a smirk. "I heard it."

* * *

When we got outside, and away from any snooping eyes, Roxas, yet again, opened a portal that would lead us to The Castle That Never Was. My new home. I had all the clothes, books, and CD's that Axel had replaced weeks ago, and I didn't need any more than that. 

But when we were about to walk in, something had caught Demyx's eye:

"Hey guys," He yelled out, pointing at a big, black mass. "What's that?"

"Shadow Heartless," Axel and Roxas answered in unison.

"_Those_ are Heartless?" I asked curiously. They weren't as bad-looking as Axel described. They were little gremlin-type creatures, true, but they had yellow glowing eyes and little antennae growing out of their skulls, giving them a cute, huggable quality. "But, Axel, I thought-"

"Rina, those are Shadow Heartless," Axel explained in a rush. "I only told you about Knights."

My eyes whipped to the growing black shadow and back to Axel. "Which is more dangerous?"

"Well, the Knights are, but the Shadow has more of 'em."

A bloodcurdling scream broke into our conversation. "There are..._two girls_ in there!" Demyx exclaimed. "They're..trying to fight 'em off!!"

"Well, let's go help 'em out!" Roxas cried.

Surprisingly, Demyx didn't protest. His sitar materialized in his hand and he looked fierce. Roxas did the same thing with his Keyblades, and Axel with his chakram. They also didn't protest when I followed them to help as well. I didn't know what to fight with, but I would battle nonetheless. The wound on my wrist tingled.

The two girls, one dressed in pink with dark blond hair, the other in tie-dye with brown hair, swiped at the Heartless with their fists, which were coated with a black substance. "There's too many, Natalie!" The girl in tie-dye gasped in distress. Her face was scratched and coated with the same black substance. "I don't wanna fight anymore!"

"Come on, April! Together we can do it!" The girl in pink, obviously Natalie, replied.

"But they just keep multiplying!" April moaned. "They won't stop coming!"

"Don't stop fighting!" Axel warned, joining the fight alongide the rest of us. "Or else the darkness will overtake you!" His chakram turned into flame and cut through a couple dozen Heartless. Demyx blasted a Heartless a foot into the air with a geyser of water, and Roxas slashed through about a hundred with Oathkeeper and Oblivion. "Get goin'!" Axel continued.

"Why? Who are you?" Natalie asked.

"Don't ask," Roxas replied. "Just do it!"

"Dance, water, dance!" Demyx screamed, making water clones attack Heartless with hardly any effort at all.

I kept punching at Shadow Heartless, trying my hardest to keep up with Axel, who I was fighting next to, but I felt little black claws sink into my back, legs, and neck. "Get off!" I shrieked, attempting to brush them off, but with no progress. "_Get off!!!_" I unwillingly sank into the growing darkness.

I paid no more attention to those around me. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. Axel, Roxas, Demyx, Natalie, and April fighting their butts off. Axel spotting my dilemma, wading through Heartless to get to me and screaming my name, but I seemed to be deaf and out of his reach. My heart thumping erratically in my chest, the only sound rushing into my ears, the one that matched Axel's.

_Thu-thump_

_Thu-thump_

_Thu-thump_

_Thu-thump_

_Thu-thump_

_Thu-thump_

I could feel them crawling up my body, and couldn't see any longer, couldn't hold on to the light, was going blind, until...

_"No! I won't let this happen!"_ The cry, though disembodied, was Axel's, and an explosion of blue fire shot out of my clenched fists, bringing me back to life. The present. The Heartless had gone. All of them. Whether I had destroyed them all or not, it was still an incredible sensation.

Still in a daze, I felt one of the girls pump my arm. April, I thought. "Wow, punky, that was totally wicked!"

Natalie punched her in the stomach. "April! 'Punky' is _not_ her name, I'm sure."

I shuddered and nodded, back to reality. "You're right. Name's Rina."

"Hi! I'm Natalie Waters, and this is-"

"April McCarthy."

Natalie was, in my mind, a preppie with a tough-girl edge. She wore a pink shirt with a skull and crossbones on it, and a black skort. Her hair was naturally straight and went to her shoulder blades, and her eyes were a clear brown flecked with dark green and gold. She was skinnier than I was, and an inch or so shorter than me, and maybe a few years younger than me as well. Her voice was quiet, hinting that she was a bit shy, but a warm, open person. Her eyes were on Roxas's, and I could already tell that the love vibes were at work there.

April was a hippie, no doubt about it. From her lingo to her happy-go-lucky attitude to her tie-die top and faded blue jeans, she was a hippie. Her hair went down past her butt and was kept in place by a beaded headband and her eyes were a startling natural shade of indigo. She was skinny, too, but had more muscle on her but obviously didn't like to fight. She was an inch taller than me, but a year younger. She was extremely loud and obnoxious, hinting that she was on the immature side a bit, but knew when to act silly and when not to. Her eyes were on Demyx's, and love vibes were at work there, too.

"Rina." Axel sighed in relief as he took me in his arms. "You OK?"

"I heard your voice, Axel, and came back to the light."

"But-really? How did you-the fire!" He stammered, making me shocked again.

"I don't know where it came from, Axel, but I also have it to thank."

"Yeah, you do." He smirked, then hugged me again.

"Can we bring them with us?" Roxas broke the silence. "I mean, they don't have anywhere to stay-"

"And we just _happen_ to have room in our rooms, too." Demyx finished.

"We won't take up much space," Natalie said quietly.

"Yeah! You won't even know we're here!" April added.

"I'd like to see that," I muttered under my breath.

"It's not my decision, guys."

"Well, Axel," Demyx said with a grin. "I guess they'll have to come with us _until_ we get a decision!"

"Yeah!" Roxas beamed.

Axel shrugged. "It's your funeral."

And, with that in mind, we walked into the portal leading into The World That Never Was.

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Well, that was a pretty long chappie for me and it's 12:07 in the morning, so I'm gonna try to go to bed now. Hope you guys like this one! R&R, please!


	8. Greetings From The Castle That Never Was

Hello, peoplez! I'm back! Sorry it's been a while, 'cuz school is back in session and I feel like I'm about to head to the asylum because of it. SAVE ME!!! TT... Anyway, I'm happy to be writing again, with special help from my friend 'Cloud Lover'. Oh, I mean 'Cloud AND Roxas Lover'.

**PRESENT TIME!!!**

Shiba-X

breezy034

popcornlover453

schoolgirl-cheesesculpture

PhantomXXJedi

James Axel Darkness

zexionXsecretXadmirer

The Faded Guardian

Xed14thKey

aquadragonsaiyan

i-am-mai

**You get cupcakes made by your favorite KH character. (Thanks Cloud AND Roxas Lover for the idea! WHEEE!) They are delectable and made with love. Enjoy them! Oh, and any other weapon you want. **

Disclaimer: You all know this stuff...I don't own anything except the OC's. So, yeah. (WHY THE CRAP MUST I DO THIS?!)

On with the chapter!

**Recap of Chapter 7**

_"Well, Axel," Demyx said with a grin. "I guess they'll have to come with us _until_ we get a decision!"_

_"Yeah!" Roxas beamed._

_Axel shrugged. "It's your funeral."_

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"Sheesh, it's cold!" Demyx complained as we walked down the pitch black alleyway to the Castle. He was standing behind April and me, and I could feel his pain without even having him touch me. It was patheticly humorus. As usual. I was in a tank top, and _I _wasn't even cold. Sheesh.

"Oh, grow up, it's not _that _bad," Axel's voice bounced off the deserted, now-brightly lit skyscrapers. "It's perfectly fine to me."

"Well, not all of us have fire flowing through our veins, Axel. _I'm not used to this!_"

"That's weird, Demyx," Roxas piped up. "Since you live here."

"Shaddap."

"Hey, guys, why don't we play..._the quiet game_!" April's loud voice nearly blew out my eardrums.

"Uh...how 'bout _not_?" Natalie snapped.

"Aw, c'mon, it'll be fun!"

A universal "NO!" came from the remaining five in the party(plus me).

"Fine, you darn...people thingies. You suck." April walked to the back of the line, Demyx following close behind and taking her hand.

I began to hum 'Goin' to the Chapel' as I watched the couple walk and linger far, far, _far_ back until I thought they walked into an alley. Alone. Uh-oh. I guess they needed some 'alone' time.

"Hey, Axel?" I tapped him on the shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"Should we go back for them...or what?" I was still a little on edge from the whole blue fire thing.

"No, let 'em have some fun."

"O...K."

"Excuse me, umm..." Natalie's voice was small and quiet. It was a miracle that she put up with April for that long.

"Axel. Got it memorized?"

"Yeah, OK, Axel. How long do we have until we get there? Or can we just take a portal?"

"We _could_..."

I could almost hear Roxas rolling his eyes. "Here it comes..." He muttered.

"...but that'll suck all the amusement out of the hike."

I walked over to Natalie and grinned. "He's got a point, ya know."

She gave the smallest hint of a smirk. "You only say that because he's your boyfriend," She whispered in my ear.

_"I heard that!"_ Axel snarled playfully.

"Good," Natalie called up to him. "Now we're all well-informed."

Fake and funny insults insued fifteen minutes after that between Axel and Natalie. I was fairly surprised that Natalie had some pretty good insults that left Axel speechless, but then Axel fired back and did the same to Natalie.

"I'm getting a headache...again...from oxygen deprivation. Hey, Axel, have any aspirin on you?" Roxas asked, holding his head.

"Do I _look_ like a druggie to you?"

"No."

"Oh, OK, here." Axel threw the bottle of pills back at Roxas and he caught it expertly with his left hand. His_ left. _Roxas was obvious right-handed. Wow.

"You carry aspirin around with you?" I asked him with a weirded-out look on my face.

"It's the only thing that cools me down when I lose my temper. I took six after that day with your uncle. Then I slept." Axel replied, catching the bottle without even looking at it as Roxas tossed it back up to him.

"Wow."

"I know, seriously."

"No, not about that, I can believe that," I said apolegetically pointing at the huge castle. "I mean, wow."

The Castle That Never Was was big. Enormous. And pure white. Antiseptically white. It slightly disturbed me. _Nothing_ should be _that_ clean. The spires towered high into the clouds, and I couldn't see the top of them. The windows were nonexistant, only for a strange blue, red and orange mist covering the openings.

The path to the front gate emerged in a transparent light every time we took a step. That also made me nervous. Looking through a glass-clear road down to a bottomless abyss below us was more than unnerving. Knowing that this..._thing_ was the only thing between life and death...well,_ wow._ It was hard to determine how I felt about this.

I guess silence was golden on the road to Nowhere since the quietness was deafening, smothering us all around. Was this the road to destiny? Or the road to hell? I couldn't tell you there. Was I falling...or flying?

"Hey guys, wait up!" Thank you for breaking the silence, Demyx. I owe you a hug. Or something.

Axel stopped and turned to smirk at Demyx, who was hunched over, gasping for breath. Did he _run_ all the way here? "Well, it's about time you caught up, Dems." Axel scoffed.

"Ha-ha, you're soooo funny." April muttered, helping her boyfriend or whatever to his feet.

"I know I am."

We finally came to the 50-foot-high, pitch-black door which contrasted with the whiteness of the building. Good. Black was good. If you had _too_ much white, well, let's say it could drive me insane. April was already there, bouncing with excitement. How sad.

I tried to open the door for the heck of it, but nearly pulled my arm out of its socket in the process. "It won't open," I whined.

Axel sighed and gently brushed me out of the way. "Move," he said, and pulled the door open without any problems. How the heck did that happen?

"Hey, wait a sec. How come I couldn't open the door but you could? That's not fair, not by a long shot!"

"I guess the fact that you can't open the door when you're not a member slipped my mind."

"Oh, and this is from the guy that says 'Got it memorized?' all the time?" Natalie placed her hands on her hips and laughed playfully.

"Whatever," Axel shrugged. "My memory's not what it used to be."

"And how old are you?" Demyx asked while still holding April's hand.

"Not old enough to stop pounding you when you get on my nerves!"

Demyx yelped and hid behind April, peeking over her shoulder. "Don't let him hurt me! Please don't let him!"

Roxas briefly glared at Demyx after seeing Axel's playful smirk. "Don't you know he was only joking?" He sighed. "Sheesh!"

"Only joking?!" Demyx perked up and immediately began grinning again in his little-boy kinda way. "OK, that's good!"

We finally decided to go in after April finally stopped bouncing(Axel had to give her a stimulant) and entered the foyer. The big foyer. The very, very, very big foyer. Yeah. In case you haven't guessed, the foyer was huge.

"Hey! Ho! Say 'hey'! Ho!" Axel, Roxas, and Demyx sang as we entered the courtyard garden, where a hooded member of the Organization was sitting in one of the trees. I didn't really know what he was doing, just relaxing and watching the little birds fly by. Then shooting them.

"Hey! Ho! Say 'hey'! Ho!" Natalie and I replied back, and then watched in awe and disgust as April began to breakdance and doing the worm on the cobblestone.

"Yeah! Work it!" Demyx put his hand in the 'rock on' symbol, then began doing a little dance of his own, not knowing that we were staring at _him_ now. "HEY! HO! SAY 'HEY'! HO!" He screamed like Spencer Chamberlain (the lead singer of UnderOath).

"Dudes, shut up! You're scaring away my target practice!"

"Wha?!" April yelped as she looked up and landed on her face from doing the breakdance head-spin thing. Looks like the stimulant worked after all.

"Didn't you hear me, man? I said you're scaring away my target practice!" The cloaked man lowered his hood to reveal...

"XIGGY!!!" Demyx ran up and jumped at the newcomer with a childish delight and began to cling to his arm.

"Gah! Demyx! Little man, get off!"

"XIGGY!"

" 'Xiggy'?" I folded my arms across my chest and lifted an eyebrow at him. "You mean 'Xigbar'."

Xigbar pried Demyx off his bicep and looked up at me. "You're right, Punk Chick."

Xigbar was about 6'1 with a black, waist-length ponytail with gray streaks and warm (unlike Saix's) piercing gold eyes. His ears were of an Elven-type (was he and Saix related?), he had a black eyepatch over his left eye and a scar on the right side of his face from under his eye to his jawline. His face was in an irritated grimace as he kept pushing Demyx away. "How'd you know my name, man?"

"Axel told me. And my name's Rina, not 'Punk Chick'. You call me that, I call you 'Surfer Dude'. Got it?"

"OK, OK, geez."

"But why are you using birds for target practice?" Natalie asked curiously.

"Grr," Xigbar growled. "Boss said I couldn't shoot Vexen for target practice, so I, like, decided to shoot Larxene's birds since _they_ wouldn't shut up in the middle of the night. Get my revenge on 'em, ya know."

"Yeah, but, Xigbar," Roxas began with a paling face, "What if Larxene finds out?"

"Find out? As if...hey, little dude? What's up? You don't look so well, man."

"Look behind you," Demyx squeaked.

Charging up behind Xigbar was a blond woman who looked like she had a bad case of PMS. _"You're the one that killed my birds?! I'm the one that's supposed to do that!"_

"Oh sh-"

Before Xigbar could get his entire curse out, Axel grabbed him by the hood and cried "RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" And that's exactly what we did.

_"I'll get you all. Darn you, XIGBAR!!!!"_

* * *

We ran into a portal leading to a hallway with a series of doors with the numbers I-XIII on them. "OK, guys," Axel gasped. "Retreat to your rooms until Larxene cools down. Oh, and Xigbar?" He called out to Xigbar's back. "Deadbolt your door." 

"Dude, you don't need to tell me twice." Xigbar scrambled to the purple and black door with a II on it, opened it, and clumsily shut it, the deadbolt clicking behind him.

Demyx and April headed for the blue door with the white bubbles and the IX on it. "Bye!" They cried happily in unison. The couple waved at us and walked through the...well, bubbly door.

Roxas and Natalie headed for the silver door with the Oblivion Keyblade and the on it, and, as he opened the door for her, a small pink flower appeared in his hand, passing from his grasp to hers. They exchanged loving glances, and the door closed behind them.

"Aww, that's so sweet," I muttered quietly. "They're gonna be really cute together."

"Yeah...whatever, let's go." Axel replied. I jumped, not knowing he could hear that. He gently took my hand and led me to the red door, flames, and the number VIII on it. It was the coolest out of the bunch, in my opinion, even though I hadn't seen the rest of them fully except for a quick glance. We walked inside.

Axel's room expressed his personality to the extreme. He had bright red-orange walls with emerald green flames stenciled on it, jet black furniture, including a plush leather couch, and a huge window with a view of the empty city below, their lights flashing neon blues, greens, pinks, and yellows.

"Axel, this is...wow. The view's amazing."

"Nice, huh? I chose it because of that." He sat on the couch.

There was a slight pause, and I joined him. "Why do you think that fire thing happened to me? I mean, nothing weird like that's happened before...what's the change?"

"I'm still not sure about it. Zexion or Vexen'll know. They're smart-really smart."

"Oh, _that's_ good." I rolled my eyes.

As soon as I said that Demyx stuck his mullhawked head in. "You guys hungry?! Zexy made udon noodles! WOO!" As quickly as he came, he left, slamming the door behind him.

"Is he always like that?"

"Yeah. You hungry?"

I shrugged. "I guess. I wanna meet the rest of the Organization."

"OK, then, let's go!" Axel opened a portal and we entered as soon as it appeared.

* * *

The table was big. Big, long and white. Typical. Didn't the decor people have any color palette? 

The intros were made almost immediately as Axel and I took our seats. I was more than freaked out by the stare Saix was giving me; I wanted so badly to flip him off, but I needed to be good the first day. Tomorrow was payback time.

Zexion was a terrific cook, let's face it, but after eating nothing but hospital food for six weeks, even dumpster food would taste better. But Mr. Bourdain, I recommend him for your restaurant.

* * *

"So, Rina," Larxene approached me after dinner, holding Marluxia's hand. She let go, and walked alongside me. "How do you like it here?" 

I shrugged and gave her a small smile. "I still need a few days to tell you that. But it should be OK."

"Then it won't take me a few days to tell you three this," We both stopped, and Axel, Roxas, Natalie, Demyx, and April stopped as well. "April, you're a stupid drugged up hippie and have the worst sense of style." She began, cooly as they come. "Natalie, your hair is probably the worst mess in the morning, and you gotta have speaking issues since you talk so quietly." Her glare was cold as she turned to me. "Rina, you're not half as pretty as Axel described. You're obviously in a nervous breakdown by the way your mood changes so frequently, oh, and your friends suck."

Natalie snarled and lept at Larxene, but Roxas held her back with difficulty. "_H-how dare you talk to my friends like that, you-you-you b-bi-Butterfinger face!"_

"Watch your language, Nattie." Larxene replied sweetly and stepped back into a portal.

_"I'll kill her, Roxas! I'll kill her!"_

"Not if I kill her first," Axel hissed.

No one noticed me run out of the room in tears after Larxene left, not even Axel. I didn't know where I was running to; anywhere but there would be fine.

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Ok, guys, once again, sorry for the long wait. But you know the drill: R&R, please! I'll be happy and I'll get the inspiration to do more, so, yeah. See ya later!


	9. Rain and Lullabys

Hey everyone! I'm back again, and SOOO ready for writing this chappie! On my left I have my good friend Cloud AND Roxas Lover to help me write again. YAY!!! But anyway, school's been a butt, so I'm limited to writing days. Oh, it's good to be back. Here's Cloud AND Roxas Lover. WHEEE!

Hey, What's up? Yeah just letting you know to read chapter 9 because it's gonna be awe-some. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. My favorite word is Yeah. Yeah. LOL. Ok see ya later!! Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, thanks, Cloud AND Roxas Lover. Now it's the moment you've all been waiting for (besides the chapter)...

**Present Time!!!**

Xed14thKey

Shiba-X

schoolgirl-cheesesculpture

breezy034

The Faded Guardian

**You get your own special version of KH2, starring your absolute favorite characters from the game! Any character you want. Even OOC characters from your favorite anime or movie OR TV show. Yeah Yeah Yeah. WoOt!**

Disclaimer: Cloud AND Roxas Lover wishes she owns Roxas, but she doesn't. Sorry for her. I wish I owned Axel, but I don't. Sorry for me. All I own is the OC's, so, yeah. And I don't own the Green Day lyrics to "Boulevard of Broken Dreams". Those obviously belong to Green Day. But I did change a cuss word to a better alternative. Oh, and the Nickelback lyrics to 'If Everyone Cared'. That's all.

LET'S GET THIS CHAPTER STARTED!!!!

Recap of Chapter 8

_No one noticed me run out of the room in tears after Larxene left, not even Axel. I didn't know where I was running to; anywhere but there would be fine._

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It was raining when I finally got away from the castle. No one around to find me. I was alone. Alone was good. Nothing better then some alone time when your heart feels like it's been ripped out by a PMSing sleezebag. Heh. I defined Larxene in two words. Go me.

I hated the fact that I gave in to Axel's move-in offer so...so easily. He had warned me about Larxene when I had first met him, to stay away from her as much as possible, but I could only concentrate on him. My flame. Why couldn't I have paid more attention? All I could remember was his glowing aqua green eyes boring into mine...that's all I had cared about then. He was...my painkiller.

I didn't look back to look to see if anyone had followed me, and I knew that nobody had. The tall, industrial-looking skyscrapers with their bright, neon signs seemed like they were sheltering me from seeing the castle, where that...that _woman _was. Before I knew it, I had run into a secluded, dark alley and broke down sobbing. I felt the freezing rain soaking my clothes, my skin, my hair, but my senses had gone numb from an overwhelming sensation of despair. How could one's words cut so deep? They were just words...

"Sticks and bones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me-oh, _yeah right_. Whoever came up with that saying was a retard!" I snarled helplessly to myself.

As I sank to the ground, pulled off my Converse and lay down in a puddle that soaked me completely, my cracking voice began to vocalize, with tears still streaming down my face:

_I walk a lonely road  
The only one that I have ever known  
Don't know where it goes  
But it's home to me and I walk alone_

_I walk this empty street  
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams  
Where the city sleeps  
and I'm the only one and I walk alone_

_I walk alone  
I walk alone_

_I walk alone  
I walk a..._

_My shadow's the only one that walks beside me  
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating  
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me  
'Til then I walk alone_

_Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Aaah-ah,  
Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ah-ah_

_I'm walking down the line  
That divides me somewhere in my mind  
On the border line  
Of the edge and where I walk alone_

_Read between the lines  
What's torn up and everything's alright  
Check my vital signs  
To know I'm still alive and I walk alone_

_I walk alone  
I walk alone_

_I walk alone  
I walk a..._

_My shadow's the only one that walks beside me  
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating  
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me  
'Til then I walk alone_

_Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Aaah-ah  
Ah-ah, Ah-ah_

_I walk alone  
I walk a..._

_I walk this empty street  
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams  
Where the city sleeps  
And I'm the only one and I walk a..._

_My shadow's the only one that walks beside me  
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating  
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me  
'Til then I walk alone..._

I really didn't know how long I was out there, my body now becoming numb from the freezing water in the growing puddle. Time was just an illusion now. One hour or one hundred years, it didn't matter to me. I could stay out there as long as I wanted to and not age.

* * *

_"Rina?" My father's voice called out to me in a flashback. "I need to go to the hospital to see your mom. She's not doing too well and I don't want you to see this."_

_"Why?"_

_"Well, we'll talk about it later. Until then, my brother'll be here in a while to babysit you."_

_"But..." I protested. I didn't like Uncle Thomas for more than one reason._

_"No buts," Dad said. "I can't let you go."_

_"Gabe?" My uncle's voice boomed through the house as the tall man walked into the living room. "I'm here. You can go."_

_"Oh...maybe I _should _take Rina with me..."_

_"No, Gabe, you know your wife needs you now more than anyone. I'll take good care of the brat."_

_"What'd you call her?!"_

_"I meant the sweet, innocent angel. Aww, she's so cute." Thomas patted me awkwardly on the head. I flinched under his touch._

_"That's what I thought." He sighed and looked at me. "Be good, alright?" He whispered to me. "Make sure your uncle doesn't do anything stupid." He kissed me on the forehead and walked out the door and into the pouring rain._

_"'Bye, Dad," I murmured shakily, waving slightly. _

_My personal Satan was in my presense."So, Rina, what do you wanna do?" he asked._

_I looked at him cautiously and shrugged. "I dunno. I just really want to watch the rain and wait until Dad gets back."_

_"I have an idea," He latched his hand around my wrist and almost forcibly led me to the balcony on the second level of my house._

_I was naturally curious. "Why are we out here?"_

_"You wanted to watch the rain, right?" All of a sudden, he picked me up by the shirt collar and dangled me over the side of the house._

_Naturally, I screamed. "What are you doing?!"_

_"You want to watch the rain? Then watch it!"_

_"Why do you do this?! What did I do to you?"_

_"My little brother has everything: A great house, gorgeous wife, beautiful child. I lost it all after my wife left me, so why should my brother have things I can't?"_

_I was speechless, then I saw Dad's car zoom up into the driveway. He noticeably looked up, saw us on the balcony, and jumped out of the car. "Thomas, what are you thinking?!" He snarled. "Get out of my house!"_

* * *

"Rina?" Axel's somewhat frantic voice brought me out of my trance. "Rina, where are you?" 

I answered somewhat reluctantly:

_"My shadow's the only one that walks beside me  
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating  
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me  
'Til then I walk alone..."_

Axel's footsteps quickened and he turned into the alley, probably shocked at my pathetic appearence. He knelt down next to me. "What the heck are you doing?"

I tried to look at him, but I couldn't will myself to. "Getting wet, what does it look like?" I didn't mean to be so blunt, but that previous flashback made me in a worse mood then I already was.

"Actually, that exactly looks like what you're doing."

"Good, you're not oblivious."

Axel chuckled lightly. Then he was serious again. "Look, I'm sorry about what Larxene said to you-"

I sat up and smacked my hand in the water around me. "No! Don't apologize for her! It wasn't your fault, it was hers! _She_ should be saying sorry. You have nothing to be sorry for!"

My burning eyes finally rested on Axel's face. His red hair was soaked and plastered against his neck, and his eyeliner was streaming down his cheeks like black tears. His concerned eyes, even in the darkness, seemed to glow aqua green. He was even more gorgeous then I remembered. "How long have you been out here, Axel?"

He shrugged. "I'm not sure. Doesn't really matter to me, as long as I found you." He stood and waited for me to get up. "Let's get back. I'll make sure Larxene won't be near you."

I grinned weakly and attempted to rise, but I remembered then that I had been submerged in ice-cold water for God knows how long. I just...couldn't. It was too much of an effort. "I would if I could..." I murmured.

Without another word, Axel pulled off his coat, leaving his perfectly sculpted, lean, muscular chest bare, and picked me up gently from the puddle, covering my soaked body with the waterproof leather. The coat was unnaturally warm, and on contact I began to shudder violently, my sense of touch returning to me in a hot flash.

Yet Axel's grip didn't falter, nor was it hesitant to pull me closer to him, closer to his chest, to warm me up back to normal body temperature, and when it finally did he didn't move me from my current postion. It made my bad attitude lift and I felt as if I was floating.

* * *

The trek back to his room was an...interesting one. He had gotten a lot of awkward stares from other members, surprised of his sopping wet hair, bare chest, and the fact that he was carrying me. But he either didn't care or he didn't notice. Axel was a man on a mission, and nothing was going to stop him. 

Roxas was with Natalie in the hall when we finally got to his room, the two were just having a quiet in-depth conversation and really didn't notice us walk in Axel's room, the green flames on his walls greeting us. "Are you OK now?" He asked me he closed the door with his foot and put me on the couch.

I nodded, surprisingly almost dry, and pulled his coat off me. "Yeah, great," I was being completely honest. "That's some high-quality fabric you have there." Of course, I was referring to his coat, but as soon as I said that I blushed, understanding the double meaning too late.

But Axel didn't seem to care about it as he pulled a green tank top over his head. "Glad you like it," he replied simply with a smirk as he headed for the bathroom with a pair of black shorts under his arm. The door closed, and, momentarily after that, he came out wearing them. "I'll take the couch, you take the bed."

I shook my head. "No, absolutely not. You're not even going to think about me taking your bed! Don't be polite; _I'll_ take the couch."

"OK, fine, if you insist. You win."

"Thank you." I pulled out my PJ's, a simple red t-shirt and navy blue sweatpants and went to the bathroom to change.

When I looked in the mirror, I looked like Death itself. Dark circles formed under my eyes, and my face was drained of all color. My hair was dry, but stringy somehow, and it looked really funky. A quick comb through made it a little better.

After examining my complexion again I changed and walked out to the couch. The lights were already out, and Axel was already in bed. A pile of blankets were on the couch, along with a pillow. I prepared myself for sleep...

But it didn't come. Thunder and lightning began to flash outside the window; my worst fear ever since my uncle dangled me out over my house. I put the pillow over my head to drown out the sound and sight, but the storm was unyielding. I sighed, and sat up. "Axel?" I was surprised how young my voice sounded.

"Geh...what's wrong?" His voice was still half-asleep. "Can't sleep?"

"No, I can't. I absolutely _hate_ thunderstorms, and they hate me."

I heard him chuckle, pull back the covers, and pat the patch of bed beside him. "Come here." He commanded gently.

I was reluctant to obey, but a huge thunderclap sent me running to him, almost if he had ordered it to do that. As soon as I was in, he pulled the covers over both of us and held me close. "So...why don't you like thunderstorms?" His campfire scent was dominent in my senses.

"Something my uncle did a long time ago. I really don't like to talk about it."

I felt Axel clench his hands into fists. "I can tell why you wouldn't like to talk about it. Grrr..."

"OK, I'll drop it,"

"Thanks, I really don't want to get angry in your presense."

"That's cool." Another thunderclap made me cringe, tremble, and snuggle more against Axel.

"What did Alex do when thunderstorms happened?"

I was hesitant. "Well, he'd sing to me. Anything sounded good when he sang."

"Do you mind if I try? I'm no Demyx, but-"

"Of course I don't mind! Go ahead. Anything to distract."

_"__From underneath the trees, we watch the sky  
Confusing stars for satellites  
I never dreamed that you'd be mine  
But here we are, we're here tonight_

_Singing Amen, I, I'm alive  
Singing Amen, I, I'm alive_

_If everyone cared and nobody cried  
If everyone loved and nobody lied  
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride  
Then we'd see the day when nobody died_

_And I'm singing_

_Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive  
Amen I, Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive_

_And in the air the fireflies  
Our only light in paradise  
We'll show the world they were wrong  
And teach them all to sing along_

_Singing Amen, I, I'm alive  
Singing Amen, I, I'm alive_

_If everyone cared and nobody cried  
If everyone loved and nobody lied  
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride  
Then we'd see the day when nobody died_

_If everyone cared and nobody cried  
If everyone loved and nobody lied  
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride  
Then we'd see the day when nobody died_

_And as we lie beneath the stars  
We realize how small we are  
If they could love like you and me  
Imagine what the world could be_

_If everyone cared and nobody cried  
If everyone loved and nobody lied  
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride  
Then we'd see the day when nobody died  
When nobody died..._

_If everyone cared and nobody cried  
If everyone loved and nobody lied  
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride  
Then we'd see the day when nobody died_

I was so shocked that Axel could sing almost better than Demyx at that very moment. He was a tenor, obviously, but his voice was deeper than I thought it would be. His voice was pure and clear; it was the most beautiful voice I had ever heard. I could listen to it forever.

My fears were put behind me and all I could think about was his voice. "Don't stop singing." I murmured tiredly when silence could only be heard, my supposing that his ballad was through. My eyes then grew heavier and I couldn't keep them open.

The last thing I felt before going to sleep was Axel bending over me, tenderly kissing me on the lips and murmuring passionately, "Good night, Rina."

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Whew! That was fun! OK, you guys know the drill! R&R, ASAP, please! See ya later!


	10. Wakeup Call

'Ello, everyone! I'm back on my writing day! YES! Actually, since it's VACATION! Oh, yeah...HAPPY NEW YEAR! So, yeah, I'm ready, oh, SO ready to write this chapter!

Oh, and I'm extremely sorry for the wait...accursed writer's block! I WILL PWN YOU, WRITER'S BLOCK, WITH THIS CHAPTER!

But...ANYWAY...good Lord, it's...

**PRESENT TIME!**

**schoolgirl-cheesescupture**

**Xed14thKey**

**aquadragonsaiyan**

**The Faded Guardian**

**Shiba-X**

**Tolea-String-PurpleChoco-Mage**

**breezy034**

**PhantomXXJedi**

**axelslilgirl**

**S.A.M Thedragongirl**

**AngeexAspxyiate**

**You get...umm...the oh-so awesome abilities to draw in any way you want! And IF you CAN draw in any way you want, you can draw even better than before! And...you also get your favorite type of cookies. YES!**

Disclaimer Crap: I don't own anyone in this story except the OC's...and they're based of some of my friends...except Rina...so I truly don't own them, either.

ON WITH THE CHAPPIE, YO! (had a bit of a Reno moment there-heh, heh.) LET'S GET IT STARTED!

Oh, and just to let you know, this one has some language (Axel's angry-not too horrible, though) and a LOT of PDA. Just wanted to warn you before you started reading...

Recap Of Chapter 9

_"Don't stop singing." I murmured tiredly when only silence could be heard, my supposing that his ballad was through. My eyes then grew heavier and I couldn't keep them open._

_The last thing I felt before going to sleep was Axel bending over me, tenderly kissing me on the lips and murmuring passionately, "Good night, Rina."_

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"Morning, Rina," Axel's voice rang soft and sweet in my half-asleep ear. "Get up. You don't want to get Saïx in here, trust me."

I shot up immediately, forgetting momentarily where I was. Where were the pale blue walls and the white green-striped curtains around my bed? Where was the enormous open window with the cars zooming dozens of feet under where I was and where were the nurses, ready to treat me to my every waking whim? Why was I in a room with bright green flames on the wall-oh. One look at Axel's perfect, beautiful face reminded me: I was at the Castle That Never Was, sharing a room (and bed) with my cherished flame, the one who had sung me to sleep the night before just because he cared about my wellbeing.

My head whirled with the sudden rush of blood to it when I sat up, so I moaned and held it for a moment, then looked and grinned sheepishly at Axel, blowing my bangs out of my eyes. "Morning," I yawned, the weight of last night's rest pushing down on me. I fell back down on the pillow because of this. "Man...what time is it?"

Axel loomed over me, looking like he was trying not to laugh. "About 7:00."

I noticed that Axel's hair had not changed since I saw him last; it was still completely down around his shoulders plastered against his neck, save for a few small spikes that had returned since it had dried; and that dried eyeliner was still streaming down his cheeks in black tears, making his aqua-green eyes pop even more than they did on a regular occasion. "We have to wake up _that_ early? B-but..." I yawned again, and sat up a second time, this time leaning back on my arms so I wouldn't fall down onto the pillow again. "But why?"

Axel smirked. "We're actually not supposed to...I woke up 15 minutes early, and that meant I needed to wake _you _up."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Oh? Where's the logic in _that_?"

He shrugged. "Logic's for professed wise guys. I'm not."

Tenderly, I cupped his face with both of my hands. "Not what? Wise? You don't know yourself very well, then." I smiled. "You're the wisest guy I've ever met. You're smart, too, you know. You just..." Our foreheads and noses touched as I brought them together slowly. "...have to get the gears movin'."

Glowing aqua-green eyes widened slightly as I said this. "Hey," Axel said as he took my face in _his _hands, kissed me for an instant, then pulled back with a grin. "Don't copy my lines...they only sound good when_ I_ say them."

"Aw, really?" The grin that had suddenly morphed onto my lips seemed seductive, playful, and lustful, something I had never felt before in my life, except with him. With Axel.

The redhead sitting beside me gave an evil smirk. "Really."

The glint in his eye seemed dangerously spiteful when he saw my smile, and before both of us knew it, in two seconds flat, we were both down on the bed again in a full blown make-out session, on our sides, no one on top of the other, tearing at each other's clothes, tongues thrashing into the other's mouth, hands cupping each other's faces at the same time. Our legs began to intertwine, and I was forcibly tugged on top of him, onto his chest, but I didn't care. My eyes were sealed shut in the heat of the moment, and time was eminent like it had been the night before. I didn't even care what I looked like, what my appearence was, or the fact that my shirt was high enough to show off my entire stomach now and all my ribs; it didn't matter to me. All that mattered to me was being with Axel, being with him all the time, and inhaling his smoldering campfire scent 'til I was high off it, until I was so used to it that I couldn't smell it anymore, until the scent lingered and remained in my hair, my clothes, my skin.

I then realized that I didn't know which one of us started this whole session we were participating in, but that I adored every second of it and didn't even feel uncomfortable with it, which shocked me. Until that very moment I had always thought to myself that I was always the most clean-cut, innocent girl that you would ever find in the entire world, no, the entire universe. Guess I had been wrong. Dead wrong. I didn't know myself, who I truly was, until I met this sarcastic, hot-tempered, protective redhead below me, and I had him, and _only_ him to thank for that. For returning back my confidence that I had lost so long ago.

That reason made me wrap my arms around his neck and force both of us deeper into our make-out session, as a way of saying _Thanks for everything; I love you_. I sighed and gasped for air as my lungs became tight, now breathing heavily through my nose, and he did the same, now rolling each other over and switching our positions; I on the bottom now, Axel on top, gently pinning me down by his tongue, his lips and nothing more than that, unknowingly becoming even more intimate amongst ourselves and becoming an X-rated show for the two gawking open-mouthed at us.

"Whoa..." My eyes shot open to see, upside-down, Demyx, still in his PJ's, his ivory cheeks flushing pink ever so slightly, the faintest smile of embaressment visible on his lips, his hands casually folded across his chest, his emerald-green orbs shining faintly with the chances of blackmail running through his mind.

"ROCK ON!" That was April, still in _her_ PJ's, her big, round, indigo eyes glowing with excitement, her mouth twisted into a wide, happy grin, her right hand pumped into the air as she saw us.

Axel immediately pulled up, got off of me, straightened out his tank top, and stood upright in the center of the bed, his face infuriated and his fists beginning to steam and shake with the burning anger building up inside his lean frame. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?" Axel's face was glowing red as he roared, which I was certain that it could be heard throughout the castle as I felt the walls tremble around me.

Demyx and April looked terrified as they huddled and cowered together, fearing Axel's wrath that was certain to come for intruding once again on the worst of circumstances.

Finally, Demyx decided to speak up. Slowly, carefully, he replied, "We just wanted to tell you that-" he paused to gulp. "that breakfast was ready and that Xemnas wanted us there as soon as possibl-"

"_YOU COULD'VE KNOCKED FOR ONCE, DEMYX!"_

"Oh, crap, I did it again."

April looked at Demyx. "What?"

"I barged in on Axel's...ahem..._private_ business."

I decided to sit up and comment coldly, the shock of the interruption wearing off. "Yes, you did."

"I'm sorry, alright!" Demyx ran and hid behind April. "Pleeeease don't kill me!"

Axel's eye twitched and the little veins in his temple were visibly pulsating as he plopped down onto the bed with his legs crossed Indian style. He sat there a moment, fuming, then hopped off the bed and lunged towards Demyx and April. " I have an idea," he said cooly while pacing back and forth in front of the terrified couple like a caged tiger. "Why don't the both of you-" he paused to glare at them. "-get the _hell_ out of here before I decide to change my mind and let you know what _real_ hell is like?"

Demyx gulped again. "O-ok, Axel." And with that, they both ran out of the room and slammed the door behind them.

Axel sighed in relief as the door slammed and he looked at me with the same evil, lovely glint. "Now," he said as he returned to the bed. "where were we?"

I grinned. "Here," I pulled Axel into a full-blown kiss, bringing him down by his tank top.

And with that, the session began again.

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Note: I apologize for the wait and also apologize for the shortness of this chapter. I didn't see any need to add the resulting scenes in this one since I thought that it would kinda cut down on the intimacy, something that I really didn't want to do for this chapter. I wanted this to flow with words in one single sequence of one single event (besides the fact of Demyx and April barging in) and if I added an additional scene of a later event, the heat of the moment would be lessened. I hope all you readers understand.

-Dani

R&R, please!


	11. Update! I'm not dead!

I will be continuing this story on my Wattpad account, guys; my username is razortotherosary! Come find me and take a look at some other stories I've done as well. :)


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